Miscommunication
by DannyFenton123
Summary: Peridot was never able to send a message to Yellow Diamond before being caught by the Crystal Gems. They are poofed, but reform later to find a very wrecked temple and none of the Gems in sight. With the help of one strange little creature, perhaps they can get to the bottom of this... and everything that happens afterwards.
1. Objective Failed

Peridot's day was going great until Steven locked them in a truck and stole the communication device.

"Don't waste time trying to escape!" Steven snapped as he slammed the door and a weird black knobby thing sunk into the car door frame. Peridot stared first in shock, then in a growing horror as the boy declared, "I put on the _child safety lock_!"

Peridot gasped, backing away from the door. "What? No! No no no no!" They then leaned forwards and slapped their hands flat against the glass of the window. "Why are you doing this?"

"I saw you steal this when we were on the moon base!" Steven declared, revealing the diamond communication device. Peridot looked at their empty hands, then glared at the human. "Tell me what it is!"

"It's not anything." The Gem bluffed. "I don't care what happens to it."

The mask of disinterest Peridot tried to pull off dissolved as soon as Steven picked up a rhythmatic pulveriser. "Huh. Then you won't mind if I shatter it?"

"Wait!" They pleaded. "Look, I'll be honest if you listen to me... it's a communicator. Used to contact the Diamonds."

Steven's expression was alien to Peridot, but it made her feel uneasy. "You're still trying to get a message to them?"

"Yes!" The green gem affirmed, and then launched into a brief explanation. When they were done, the boy's expression was even stranger; their eyebrows were knitted together and their lips turned down severely at the edges.

Peridot had never seen Steven like this. She had, however, seen the other Gems wear this expression. Like Garnet, when they lifted Peridot up in the air after the Earth discussion on the Moon base and told them they were talking about things they didn't understand.

So this was an emotional expression, a very bad one. Before the Gem could attempt to reason with Steven, he spoke up.

"But the Diamonds don't care about the Earth!" Steven backed away. "They made the Cluster!"

"Yes, that's the entire point!"

The boy growled. "Argh... Why do I keep sticking up for you when you'll never change?" He began to run away, shouting for the Crystal Gems.

Peridot panicked, rushing to the back of the vehicle to shout through the glass. "Steven, no! They won't understand! You don't understand!"

The barn door slammed shut, leaving Peridot in near darkness. They simply sat there for a second, their plan in ruins.

The Earth would be doomed after all. They'd failed completely, and on top of it all, the Crystal Gems would never trust them again.

This was... strangely hurtful to the small green Gem. They'd come to appreciate the ragtag group of misfits, despite their obvious flaws and general incompetence. Amethyst, the entertaining Quartz Gem who seemed much different from the warriors back at Homeword, both in personality and stature. The pearl, who was surprisingly an expert technician and quite welcoming once one stopped ordering them around. Steven, the strage hybrid abomination who had been kind to them from the beginning.

And the permafusion Garnet, who was... special. A good friend? Peridot's limited knowledge of the emotional side of language fell short when describing what Garnet meant to them.

Just when Peridot curled up in the back, feeling small, defeated, something caught their eye from one side of the car. It was green, faintly illuminated by the sun which was in a medial stage Earthlings called 'afternoon'.

The robot Peridot had built for the competition! It was sitting there, ready to be activated at a moment's notice. This gave the Gem an idea. A very radical, very good idea, if only they could reach it.

Peridot first began by attempting to open the door, but this of course didn't work. They punched the glass, but they were too weak to even crack it; it was times like these when the Gem fondly remembered their limb enhancers.

They then crawled to the front and began pressing buttons, hoping it would do something. Not much happened, but they did discover pushing the centre of the steering wheel produced a loud beeping sound. Seeing that was the only thing that actually worked, they pressed it several times, looking around the car trap in frustration.

That was when their eyes landed on the car door. More specifically, the weird knobs that had clicked down when the child safety lock was applied.

Using basic reasoning, one could conclude that if pushing down the knobs locked the car, pulling them back up would free them.

Peridot gripped the knob, and after a few tries managed to bring it back up to its original position. They pulled the handle, and the car door swung open.

"Heh, heh, heh!" The Gem cackled to themselves as they hopped down to the ground. "That primitive system is no match for a Gem of my intellect!"

Without further ado, they hurried into the robot and activated it. With a gleeful grin, they stomped over to the side of the barn and barrelled right through it, immediately locating the Crystal Gems standing on a hill not that far away.

Peridot cheered, revelling in the power of their robot as Steven and the clods stood stunned. "I'm free!"

"How did she get out?" Steven demanded, which caused a rather crazy grin to light up Peridot's eyes. He was a good friend, sure, but no match for their cunning!

"You clods!" Peridot gloated. "Your primitive trapping technologies are no match for me!"

The Crystal Gems began running towards Peridot, and one could easily see Pearl holding the communication device. It hadn't been destroyed; they still had a chance!

Peridot grabbed the truck with one robot arm. Effortlessly, the robot hurled the truck at the three Gems, causing them to split up. Then they charged forwards in the robot and plucked the communicator effortlessly out of Pearl and Amethyst's hands.

This was so easy, it was a miracle Earth wasn't overtaken by Homeworld already. If they couldn't protect earth, it was up to Peridot.

"See? There's no way you can protect Earth if I can beat you so easily!" Peridot sneered before charging away at full speed.

Now, if the green Gem could just get a reasonable distance away, the Crystal Gems would be unable to interfere with contacting Yellow Diamond, and the Earth would be saved. They'd thank Peridot later for the ingenious plan, but right now they were in too much of an emotional state to properly examine the situation.

Peridot attempted to turn the communicator in their robot hands, but this was hindered by the swinging gait and clumsy pincers of the suit. If only they had attached these wheels, it might have been-

"Hey, you!" The green Gem looked up in surprise to see Amethyst, shapeshifted into a helicopter, flying alongside the robot. Inside were Garnet, Pearl and Steven.

Peridot screamed and attempted to manoeuvre away, but Garnet's gauntlets flew off their hands and struck the robot. There was little they could do as the robot was blasted off the road and into a power line, falling down and smashing into the ground. The communicator landed just in front of them, but before they could make a dash for it Pearl's spear landed into the ground between.

Amethyst roared a battle cry, and Peridot hissed as they saw their already totalled robot being battered into pieces. However, they were clearly distracted by beating up the metal, so the small Gem took a chance and burrowed through the arm tubes, popping out just by the communicator.

With a childish giggle, Peridot picked up the communicator. This ecstasy was short lived, however, as something tackled them from behind. At first the green Gem feared it was the warrior Quartz Amethyst, but a flash of pale skin spoke otherwise.

"You're not contacting Homeworld!" Steven declared as the two struggled for the communicator. "I thought you were on our side! I thought you finally came round to us!"

Peridot tried to shove the boy away. "You don't understand! You're too emotional! I will be the one to save-"

A purple hand reached from behind then and plucked the communicator out of Peridot's hand.

"Huh?" Peridot looked over in time to see Amethyst crush the communicator in their hand. Their face was a picture of rage. "What! No! Why did you do that?!"

Amethyst shook off the shards of the communicator and stabbed a finger at them. "No, Peridot. Why did _you_ do that?"

"You've doomed us! You don't understand!" Peridot crawled away as Pearl and Garnet flanked the purple Quartz. Their weapons were all out, and their expressions were terrifying.

"Doomed us?" Amethyst growled. "Nah. I think I just saved the Earth from a snotty little traitor. You were going to sell us out to Yellow Diamond!"

"I wasn't-"

"And to think we trusted you!" Pearl stabbed their spear at the green Gem, causing them to jump back.

"But-"

Garnet pushed past the other two Gems, staring Peridot down with that eerie visor. "I thought you were more than this."

Peridot shook like a leaf as everything that had happened in the past few weeks – both their bond with the Gems and the great plan – shattered into a million pieces before their blurry eyes.

"After everything we've done... I saw us working together to defeat the Cluster. I really thought that was our future, but I've been wrong before."

Peridot looked over and saw Steven standing off to the side. "Steven, help! This is a miscommunication... my intention was never to harm the Earth!"

Steven turned their back.

"Steven, please!"

Steven put their hands over their ears.

"Steven!" Peridot crawled towards them. "Please, you have to believe me!"

"Believe you?" Amethyst rolled their eyes off to the side. "That's your funniest joke yet."

Pearl stepped between them, brandishing their spear. "Get away from Steven!"

"No!" Peridot lashed out and grabbed just before the tip. "You clods aren't listening to me! I was going to save this dirt ball of a planet, but you've doomed us all! You're all too emotional, too defective, to even see that-"

In the midst of their tantrum, Peridot failed to notice Pearl had drawn another spear from their Gem. That was why they were still shouting passionately when the Gem ran them cleanly through the abdomen.

And _poof_.


	2. The Smoking Room

"-Yellow Diamond could've fixed this all! We wouldn't even need to build a drill!" Peridot opened their eyes, and saw to their surprise that they were in a different place. A very dark, wet place illuminated only by a gaping hole in the wall leading to the cloudy outside.

A thin layer of cold water covered the floor, so Peridot wasted no time in jumping to their feet. What was this strange place?

The foreboding sound of the sea roared in the back of the Gem's mind as they looked around. There were numerous dark lines in the stone ground that encircled some sort of pit. Around the edges were strange twisting tubes, a very faint greyish-red in colour. At the back was a platform supported by the tubes, which granted access to a minimally decorated arch through to a darkened room.

It looked strangely familiar. Frowning in curious confusion, Peridot splashed over to the pit and looked down. All they could perceive was blackness before a strange dark gas emitted from the depression rose up and got under their visor. Coughing and waving their hand around, they jumped back and fell into the water.

They couldn't see. Was this some sort of blinding weapon?

"Nya!" The Gem squeaked, momentarily taking off their visor to rub their eyes. The water on their hands appeared to help, so they flushed their face with the liquid, blinked hard several times and replaced the visor back on their face, their vision returned mostly to normal.

Much more cautiously, Peridot stood up and approached the pit. The strange dark blinding gas appeared to be streaming in thin, weak wisps from the centre, rising up into the ceiling. It was when their eyes followed these wisps that they discovered why this place seemed so familiar.

It was filled with bubbled Gems, shining various colours in the limited light, stretching up as far as the eye could see into a smoky darkness. This was the place where Steven had first begun to change their mind. This is was the place where bubbled Gems went.

This was the Burning Room, but not like Peridot had ever seen it before. After the fight, the Crystal Gems must have bubbled them, but some sort of accident damaged the room and freed them. How long they had been bubbled, they had no idea, but it was obvious the Crystal Gems would not be happy to see them free again.

As Peridot looked around the bubbled Gems, however, one object caught their attention. Roughly cuboid in shape, covered in a pink bubble, it had a speaker on one face and three buttons on the side.

Their audio log! Peridot's eyes widened in surprise; how did that thing get there? It certainly wasn't dangerous... but then again, maybe it was simply there for safekeeping.

Yes, that made logical sense, despite the obvious inefficiency of keeping multiple categories of objects together in one large space. The Crystal Gems as a group weren't known for their organisation.

After that analysis, Peridot's mind moved onward to another topic. Now that they had seen their logs, they wanted it back. There was a stone – a piece of debris from the broken wall, no doubt – lying in the water, so the Gem picked it up and chucked it at the bubble. Their superior aim struck the bubble and popped it, and they managed to dive and catch the audio log before it fell in the water. With a cackle of satisfaction, the small green Gem flicked a button, sat up and began to record.

"Ahem. Log date... unknown. In my attempt to contact Yellow Diamond, I was caught and my physical body destroyed by the Crystal Gems. Clods bubbled me for an undetermined amount of time, but it appears mysterious damage to the area I was being contained in has freed me. I shall continue my long-term goal to contact Yellow Diamond and request the termination of the Cluster, but for now-"

A bright light sparked into existence in a dark edge of the Burning Room. Peridot gasped as a yellowish bright form came into view and began to take shape.

They must have freed a Gem from one of the bubbles when they threw the rock! Peridot scrambled back, well aware of Pearl's description of the mindless and savage entities imprisoned in this room.

Quickly the small Gem splashed towards the gaping in the Burning Room's wall, but upon reaching it realised some sort of invisible barrier kept them from escaping. They did not have time to figure out exactly what this barrier was; they could only turn around and watch, shaking from head to toe, gripping their audio log to their chest.

The light around the being seemed to form some sort of featureless humanoid at first, but it was only for a moment. A great mane of hair sprouted from its head, and pincers formed on both ends. Twiggy, stubby legs and a segmented body took shape in the light.

Peridot's eyes widened; what was this Gem?! It was like nothing they had ever seen before, nothing Homeworld had ever even mentioned! Trembling in dead and fear for their life, they curled up into a ball, squeezing their eyes tight, whimpering loudly and pitifully whilst praying they would not be noticed by the animal.

A gasping, rasping growling sound started up, and Peridot only grew more terrified. They were going to die here, all for the sake of one primitive audio log! What prompted them to make such a miscalculation?

The gasping sound grew louder, and before they knew it a sniffing sound started up right next to their ear. The Gem braced themselves, but after a few seconds of suspenseful waiting the sniffing died off, and they had the distinct feeling that something was watching them.

Very slowly, Peridot peeked out an eye from between their fingers. They saw a giant bug-like animal, taller than them, with a white wild mane of hair and black mandibles that drooled some sort of smoking green liquid. In between the jaws was a spherical green gem, which also appeared to function as an eye; something the Gem had never seen before. Its hackles were clearly raised, but it did not seem to be attacking.

"Nyuh?" Peridot frowned. "What sort of being are you?"

The creature snorted and screeched, circling around the Gem in a sort of restless curiosity. Then, it stopped, seeming to relax slightly. It stopped pacing in the water and simply stood there, staring at them with that strange eye.

Peridot looked towards the entrance. Seeing no other option, they slowly stood up and moved towards the archway exit. The animal watched them closely, their hackles rising once more, still making that unsettling rasping noise.

All was going well... that is, until Peridot reached the base of the arch platform. They reached one hand away from their chest to grasp a tube, and that was when the hissing started.


	3. Through the Arch

Peridot squeaked as the Gem creature spat a glob of that green liquid right at them. They ducked and saw the surface the liquid stuck to corrode into nothing within seconds. The creature advanced, moaning and hissing, its large black jaw wide open.

"Eep!" They cringed. The creature readied itself to spit again and the Gem upped and ran across the room, splashing in the shallow water. The creature screeched and took off after them, beginning a rather traumatic game around the Burning Room of tag for Peridot.

The small Gem leapt for one of the tubes leading to the platform, but they were too slow and the creature nearly caught up with them. A stream of the corrosive spit sailed over their head as they began to freak out. What were they supposed to do? They couldn't take out this creature like the other Gems; they were too weak. They couldn't reason with it, it wouldn't listen.

Looking back at their pursuant, it was obvious they couldn't outrun it for too long either. The terrifying creature was catching up in leaps and bounds as it chased them around the room.

Attempting to confuse the creature, the green Gem suddenly turned to the side and sprinted across the diameter of the circular room. The creature, however, took it all in stride and began honing right in, causing Peridot to panic. In a last-ditch attempt to get away, they dived into the pit at the centre.

They didn't fall far at all, faceplanting into something damp and hot, like wet sand. Shutting their eyes tight, they scrambled to their feet, feeling little grains of this something work its way into every nook and cranny of their body.

Yes, this felt exactly like that horrifying day Steven introduced them to sand, only worse. They squinted open their eyes to see a very, very black substance smeared all over their body. The audio log was still in their hands.

Then they raised their eyes, and there was the creature. The pit was surprisingly shallow and Peridot stood a head and a bit taller than the opening.

They covered their face, but after nothing happened for a second, they sneaked a look. The creature was calmly staring down at them, regarding them with that one Gem eye whilst their mandibles dribbled venom.

"Huh?" Peridot raised an eyebrow. "And now you aren't attacking me again? What kind of defective thing are you, anyway?"

The creature opened their jaws and gave out a soft rasping noise. Its hair was slowly letting itself down as it calmed.

The green Gem sighed and looked down on themselves. "Aaah, it doesn't matter. Look what you've made me do, creature!" They wiped the black sand stuff off of their chest. "You made me jump in this pit and get this irritating grainy substance all over-"

With an alarmed screech, the creature jumped back into action, its jaw swinging wide open.

"What? What did I do?" Peridot looked down, where they saw their hand had revealed a distinctive yellow diamond underneath the grainy black sand they had been covered in. "You-you're upset by my Diamond's insignia? Blasphemy!"

The creature spat just to the side of Peridot, and they watched in terror as the liquid ate away the stone. "B-but in certain situations, protocol can be ignored..."

The green Gem reached down and grabbed a handful of the black substance, then plastered it over the diamond in their uniform. "There, you... you clod! Now leave me alone!"

The Gem animal immediately calmed down, but it did not leave. Like a few seconds ago it was content to just sit and stare at Peridot, who was considerably less comfortable with the situation.

Reluctant to turn their back on the creature, Peridot attempted to reach backwards and clamber out of the pit. This attempt was met with failure, so begrudgingly they turned and awkwardly crawled out, all the time aware of the soft moans and growls coming from the thing that was watching them.

As soon as the small Gem was out, they turned and checked to see the creature was standing in the same place; it was.

"Heh." Peridot began backing away, talking to the thing like they thought it could understand a word they spoke. "That's right, you creature! You stay right where you are. Now, to find Steven and the others-"

The creature suddenly squawked in excitement, running over to Peridot. At first they were worried the thing was now upset about the name 'Steven' but now it appeared to be somewhat... excited, and made no move to attack. The green Gem raised an eyebrow, shrugged and and then took a step forwards...

The creature also took a step. Peridot heard the splash and turned around. It was looking up at them, the smaller pair of pincers on the back of its body wagging a little like some sort of canine's.

"Nya? Oh, no no no!" Peridot instantly realised what was going on. "You, are not following me!"

It opened and closed its jaws, the green liquid dripping steadily out of its mouth.

The small Gem swatted their hands around in the air. "Shoo, you, you whatever you are!"

With a curious noise, the Gem creature inclined its head, hair raising slightly on its back. Nevertheless, it did not take a step back.

Peridot sighed deeply, running a hand down their face. "Ughhhh... nobody listens to a Peridot. Whatever! Just don't get in my way or I'll... uh, I'll do something about it, I can assure you!"

And with that, they continued towards the platform. From there, they grabbed onto the reddish tubes that lined the walls of the Burning Room and helped themselves up onto the top, where they stood facing the arch.

They remembered standing here before, back when they had just been unbubbled by Steven. Though they didn't realise it at the time, it was the start of something big. Not necessarily something good; the Crystal Gems they had become begrudgingly attached to were irrational beings, a ragtag band of traitors to Homeworld and thus the great Yellow Diamond, who never did anything wrong.

But they weren't bad Gems, which completely confused Peridot. They could only rationalise this inconsistency by reasoning that even those in the wrong were not completely flawed. This thought was still far out of line with Homeworld's way of thinking, but it was far better than any implication that the great leader was...

Peridot shook themselves, unwilling to even entertain the thought. They looked towards the arch, and jumped slightly when the creature padded past them, grunting contentedly. Then they sighed, stepped forward and turned to walk down a short corridor that led to the outside of the temple, noting how much darker it was than they remembered.

They reached the door, and it opened automatically. What they saw upon exiting the Burning Room made Peridot realise that whatever was going on was far more serious than their recent problems with the Crystal Gems.


	4. Plan

The first thing Peridot noticed was the large hole that had been ripped cleanly through the roof, starting at the door and continuing right up to the cave. Pieces of wooden planks lay soaking in the centre as rain fell freely into the house. The water pooled around the Warp pad, in which a piece of brown seaweed was residing.

"Whoa..." The green Gem took a step out of the temple, looking around in a mixture of horror and awe. "What happened here?"

A yelp from off to the side startled Peridot, and they caught sight of the creature that was following them around.

"Oh, it's just you." Peridot crossed their arms, narrowing their eyes. After a second, they began to shake, and then they lost it. "It's just _you_! Nyagh, what happened here? What happened to the Cluster? What happened to the Crystal Gems! At least they were useful in some way... now, I've gone against them, I've failed Yellow Diamond and now you're all I've got! And you attacked me! Mindless whatever-you-exactly-are lifeform... what am I gonna do now?!"

The creature looked up at Peridot with one shining eye. It opened its jaw a little, and then closed it, letting out a low moaning sound.

"What is it, you, clod?" The small Gem curled their fingers into fists, stamping their foot into the water. "Why don't you tell me we're going to do with this mess? Why is it always me that has to figure this stuff out?"

The creature calmly turned on its four heels and began plodding away towards the front of the house.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Because you _don't talk_!"

Peridot nevertheless watched it it pad through the debris, hop up on what remained of a ladder and climb up to the second story. This part of the house looked less ruined, and from what Peridot could remember of their time spent here, it was Steven's bedroom.

The creature was out of sight, so Peridot picked their way over to see what was going on. They put one foot on the rotting ladder and the rung broke.

"Nyuh..." The small Gem wrinkled their nose. "This building's structural integrity has been compromised. I would not advise staying up there."

The groaning, yelping noise did not change. Why were they attempting to communicate with an animal, again?

A part of the second story's roof dissolved into green liquid. It began dripping down to the floor as the house gave a great moan.

Peridot frowned. There was no way that floor was going to hold up much longer, yet the creature did not appear to notice. Perhaps they should leave this backwards animal to its own demise before-

 _Crack_!

Right on cue, the wall caved forwards and the entire second story tilted towards the small Gem. They saw the creature sliding rapidly towards them and grabbed them in their arms, only to find right behind it was a rather large TV. With a yelp, they backed away and watched a pile of heavy stuff and parts of a roof smash down on where they were just a second ago.

"Whoa..." Peridot took a second to gape openly at the destruction. Then the creature they were holding began to twist and snarl as they held it, so they dropped it. It landed on its back with a yelp, then jumped up and headed immediately back towards the debris.

Peridot had never seen such stupidity before. "Ugh! Do you Earthlings have no sense of self preservation?"

The creature shuffled through the wreckage with the point of its jaw until it found something and pulled it out. The next thing Peridot knew, it had its entire mouth covered by a plastic _Chaaaaaps_ bag.

"So, that was your objective." The green Gem raised an eyebrow as the creature began shaking its head to get the bag off. It then began tearing into the greasy food, foaming at the mouth. "Interesting, considering Gems do not need to consume food."

They looked back at the pile of wreckage. "I wonder if this mess has anything else useful in it."

Digging through the junk, Peridot uncovered the smashed screen of the TV. They saw a spark fly out of it and jumped back, noting the water on the floor.

"Huh. A primitive image cube." The green Gem found a counter on the other side of the room and hopped up on it, safe from a possible electrical shock. "Steven would not shut up about this contraption; it uses 'radio waves' to receive signals that display a picture."

With a curious whine, the creature looked up from its bag of _Chaaaaaps_.

"Of course, back on Homeworld we have a much more improved way of transmitting messages. Even better than that diamond we found on the-"

Peridot's eyes widened. "Oh, my stars. I think I have an idea... I can still contact Yellow Diamond! I can still stop the Cluster!"

They jumped up on the counter, a wide smile on their face. The centipeedle picked up on the vibe, standing up and pawing at the counter excitedly.

"I-If those Crystal Clods were idiotic enough to break my communicator... I'll just build another one! True, it'd be extremely primitive, and I'd need to find a Homeworld enhancer chip... but I'm a trained Homeworld technician, with extensive field knowledge of the planet Earth. I've survived this long I just need to build it; of course, that Pearl would come in handy..."

The green Gem looked over at the creature. "Nyah, I don't need her! You can be my assistant! You can help!"

The creature drooled more green liquid as it wagged its back mandibles excitedly. It was beginning to melt the countertop.

"Somehow." Peridot made a face, before turning around. "But I could actually do this! All I need is to contact Yellow Diamond and reveal to her what I've discovered! Then, she'll terminate the Cluster. I know she will! We can't waste any time; let's get to work!"


	5. Saved Me

"Log date 8 11 5, about half a rotation since my release. I... blew myself up." Peridot blushed a bright green as they perceived the creature to be staring at them. "Don't look at me like that! How was I supposed to know it mattered that the bread frying appliance was still plugged in when I dropped it in the water?"

The centipeedle was still staring at them as the two sat on the counter in the light of the full moon, but the green Gem decided to ignore it.

"Anyways, this was my second regeneration in the span of one Earth rotation. No visible damage to my Gem has been observed, however I will need to take better precaution from now on. Otherwise, progress on the communicator is off to a good start. We have gathered most of the parts we need. I only wish I had a better assistant."

They gave a pointed glare to the creature, which was drooling all over a pile of salvaged parts. "Peridot, Facet 5, end log. What are you doing, you strange creature?"

With a yawn, the creature stood up. It looked over at Peridot with a somewhat bored expression before jumping to the watery ground and wading towards the remains of Steven's bedroom.

The green Gem groaned. "It doesn't matter. I need to get back to work, and this time I won't blow myself up!"

With a winning grin, they leaned over and opened a cupboard on the side of the counter. From there, they drew out two plungers and a full roll of duct tape.

"Nya-haha! I don't know what these human inventions were originally for, but if I tie them to my feet then these isoprene polymers will protect me from any electrical accidents. I'm a genius!"

A loud growl rumbled through the night, causing Peridot to squeak and curl into a foetal position. When they dared look through their hands, all they saw was the centipeedle tearing apart a bag of _Chaaaaaps_.

With a stream of disgruntled mumbling, Peridot unravelled a section of sticky duct tape with a ripping sound and began sticking the two plungers to their feet. When they were done, they hopped off the counter and, upon seeing that they did not spontaneously combust upon contact with the water, let out a cackling victory celebration.

"Ye-es! Victory is mine!" They tottered into the middle of the kitchen. "Now, the magnetron in this 'microwave' may be useful to me..."

A growling started up, deep and chilling.

"Stop doing that, you idiot creature!" Peridot snapped, not turning around to investigate the noise. They were too busy using a leverage optimiser to remove the screws holding the microwave in place.

The sound did not stop. If anything, it got louder... or closer.

"I said... Nya, why bother? You don't listen anyway, like those Crystal Gems but worse." They loosened the last screw, and the appliance came tumbling into their arms. It was surprisingly heavy.

Peridot turned. "Now will you be-" And then they stopped, and then they gasped, because the creature that had cornered them in the kitchen was not the centipeedle.

For one, it was blue, and almost as tall as the house, its surface shimmering like slightly melted ice in the moonlight. Its face was comprised of three black holes carved into its main body, with short study legs and very long arms. As the little Gem stood there, shaking in terror, it took a deep breath and roared right at them, dusting them with a layer of freezing snow. Then it took a step forward, taloned hands reaching out-

And there it stopped. It stumbled back, letting out a shrill, terrified screech and twisting slightly to the side, revealing the centipeedle latched onto its body. The blue monster swatted at the creature and hit it right on the head, knocking it to the ground with a cry of pain. Before a second had passed however, it shot up with a spitting snarl, its gemstone eye glowing faintly in the shadow. The blue monster confronted it head on, only to get a glob of green acid in the face. Uttering that piercing screech again, it could not stop the centipeedle from leaping and biting into it from the back, ripping out an arm, forcing it with a flurry of violent twists to the floor right in front of Peridot.

Peridot stood there in shock for a moment, their analytical mind struggling to take in the events that had just transpired. The centipeedle was looking straight at them from the middle of their wide-open jaw, making grunting noises as it kept the blue monster pinned to the ground as it thrashed in the thin layer of water. It seemed to want them to do something.

Dumbly, they looked from the scene to the heavy microwave in their hands. Then they released their grip on it, and it smashed right on the back of the blue monster's head, poofing it. A small dark blue Gem plopped into the water, which Peridot took a second to pick up.

"Oh, my stars." The green Gem breathed, before jumping back at the sight of the centipeedle walking towards them with bits of blue entangled in its hair. "Nya! I mean... you saved me?"

They stepped over the microwave, and carefully reached a hand out towards the centipeedle. The creature made a snuffling noise as it approached the hand, its hackles gradually lowering.

Just as Peridot was about to touch the tip of the creature's black snout, an excess glob of green acid trailed down its jaw and landed on one of the plungers they were wearing, dissolving most of the rubber almost instantaneously and only narrowly missing the actual foot. With a startled yelp, Peridot jumped back, tripped over the microwave and smashed their head on the counter.

"Ow!" They rubbed the affected region, and saw the creature was still staring at them from behind the microwave. "You clod, leave me! I will assign you to sentry duty; you will be of more use there than helping me salvage this microwave. And _wow thanks_!"

With a snort, the centipeedle wandered off to find the next bag of _Chaaaaaps_.


	6. Ocean Cackle

**Coming from a family of computer people, this first part of the story makes me immensely happy ;)**

Peridot was on a ladder, holding two radio antennae glued to a stick of this random heavy yellowish metal they found lying in a safe above a large spire of parts that was the communicator.

"Steady, steady..." In the day's light, they ever so carefully lowered the piece onto the unfinished communicator, the centipeedle watching with metaphorical bated breath. "Steady, now..."

With the lightest of touches, the duct tape on the bottom of the yellow metal connected to the top of the communicator. An expression of pure concentration fixed on their face, they slowly removed their hands.

"I-it worked. It worked! Ye-es!" Peridot punched the air, and below them the centipeedle began yowling and scratching at the counter in excitement. "I shall see Yellow Diamond herself in a matter of rotations! I'm a genius! This could not possibly fail!"

With those famous last words, the tower began to wobble. Right before their eyes, the thing toppled over into a pile of spare parts.

"What?!" Peridot grabbed their forehead, looking over in horror. "This is- I worked so- no! No-nonononono-"

The ladder they were standing on tilted and catapulted Peridot off the counter. This hardly fazed them, however, and they climbed back up and searched through the parts until they found the yellow metal.

"Ugh, my calculations were off. This thing is too heavy, and now I've got to start all over again! All over again!" In frustration, they chucked the bar away from them. It dented on the counter before splashing on the ground next to the centipeedle. "I was a fool to think this would work. This element 'gold' the humans speak of seems to be highly valuable – I can only think for its use in circuitry - but it is obvious their technology is so primitive I can't even understand how it could possibly work! Why would they put something with such high mass in- what are you doing?"

The centipeedle appeared to be gnawing on the bar of gold, melting it with their magical saliva.

"Nyuh, what do I care? That thing is useless... as it..."That was when the green Gem noticed something very, very important.

The melted gold ran off the surface of the bar into the water, where it let off a little steam as it cooled. The cooled element seemed much thinner than its solid bar counterpart, almost like-

"Wires." Peridot realised. "Ooohhhhhh, I get it! These humans aren't quite as backwards as I originally thought. They _melt_ it down first!"

The answer seemed so obvious now; they felt a little backwards themselves for not getting it immediately. But that was not a thought they would openly admit, so they cleared their throat.

"Ahem. With this new information in mind, I should redesign my blueprints for the communicator. This may enable me to make the device much smaller, which will make it easier to carry to the Communication Hub when I am done. Perhaps-"

From a table placed almost next to the warp pad, a small item wrapped in duct tape began to float in the air. After a few seconds, it seemed to puff up from within before deflating in a rather anticlimactic display, dropping back down to its original position. The centipeedle watched it with one frowning gemstone eye.

Peridot looked over. "That blue Gem again. I wish we could bubble that thing, but I don't know how." With a sigh, they unravelled a piece of only slightly damp paper and began to design the communicator. To give themselves a better light, they switched on the one from their Gem.

That was when a familiar centipeedle noise started up, that distorted mix of animalistic sounds that didn't sound half as threatening as it did before. They looked over to find the creature, a piece of half-melted gold bar sticking out of their mandibles, looking out over the beach from what remained of the front of the house. This day was quite sunny and bright light streamed through the creature's hair, giving them an almost ethereal glow.

"What are you doing?" Peridot was not so much worried about the gold; from what they had seen of the safe, this appeared to be a rather common metal. "You're going to be seen by some nosy human!"

The centipeedle paid no attention and wandered out of the remains of the house, much to their dismay. With an angry groan, they slid off the counter and peeked out from one of the ruined walls.

The beach appeared fairly calm and devoid of human life, the clear blue water and soft sand shining brilliantly in the sun. In this idyllic setting, they saw the centipeedle running around, flecks of gold dripping from their jaws. They stopped when they caught sight of Peridot, and rose up on their hind legs momentarily, letting out an excited yelping sound as they did.

The green Gem had an idea of what they meant by this point. "You want me to go outside? Where we could be easily seen by anybody passing by? No, I will not make such a miscalculation!"

This did not deter the centipeedle, which simply sat there and waited for Peridot to come out. So in a reluctant attempt to compromise, they did spy a piece of rock sitting right up against the bottom of the Temple in the shade.

"Fine. I will test this... strategy." Peridot switched off their light, grabbed their paper and pencil and emerged out of the ruins of the house for the first time in a couple days. They cautiously made their way through the sand, grumbling at the fluid texture.

When they reached the rock, they hopped up on it and almost immediately set to writing again. The cool surface of the stone felt a little uncomfortable, but the soft roaring of the waves and the more favourable lighting conditions made Peridot think twice about judging this spot so harshly. Perhaps some components of the communicator would be better built out in the sand, away from the damp-

A yelp startled Peridot, and they looked down to see the centipeedle holding a short piece of a wooden plank out to them.

"Yes?" The green Gem frowned. "What do you need?"

They sprung up and plonked the plank on top of Peridot's blueprint, the end sizzling from its contact with the green saliva. Then they stared expectantly at the Gem, their one eye flitting from the plank, back up to the Gem, and back to the plank again.

Peridot carefully picked up the plank, and the centipeedle yelped in excitement. "You want me to use this in my design? I do not need this organic component. Your help is appreciated, but you can leave me alone." They threw the plank a little ways away, and then got back to their design.

It was only a short time later that the plank reappeared on top of their paper, only a little more slathered in saliva. They looked over at the centipeedle in mild annoyance.

"I told you, you clod. I don't need this!" Chucking the piece of wood a little harder, they then returned to drawing out their communicator. The gold wires would come in a lot of handy to transfer electricity from the speakers to the ant-

A very small piece of wood, almost completely dissolved by centipeedle spit, was placed right next to the paper. Peridot glared down at the happy culprit.

"What has caused you to act in this extraordinarily stupid way? I. Don't. Need. This. Nyuh, you Earthlings are so simple you can't even understand a basic instruction most of the time. What do you think this is, a game?"

With the tip of their pencil, they flicked the stub of wood off the stone they were sitting on. To their surprise, they watched the centipeedle catch it before it dropped and spit it back out on the stone again, the remains smoking a bright green.

Peridot raised their eyebrows. "Is this some sort of primitive form of entertainment, where I throw something and you return it to me? Interesting..."

The centipeedle kept their eye fixed on the remaining scrap of wood that had not yet been dissolved. It was too small and too dangerous to be even touched anymore, much less thrown, but the green Gem had a better idea.

"If this will make you leave me alone, then fine. I'll participate in this 'game'." They picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it out towards the sea. It landed somewhere on the beach, and as expected the centipeedle took off after it, saliva trailing behind them as they ran. In approximately twenty four seconds, they returned with the flaky remains of the rock.

With a bemused expression, Peridot retrieved another small rock and threw it a little further, hoping the longer it took to fetch, the longer they had to draw out their blueprints. Indeed, the more times the centipeedle returned the remains of the last stone thrown, the further the green Gem aimed. This continued for a rather long length of time until the rock was flung so far, it landed with a plop into the ocean. The centipeedle didn't appear to mind, however, so Peridot continued drawing until an urgent grunting noise started up near them.

"I fail to see what enjoyment you would get out of this activity." Peridot noted, looking down at the centipeedle. But the green Gem stopped mid speech upon seeing what was in their jaw.

The centipeedle placed its two front feet on the rock and deposited a sort of off-white fossil on top of the blueprints. Peridot had some knowledge from Steven that dead animals left behind certain organic structures of this design, but the pictures they had been shown were in museums, not sitting on a beach.

Curious, they picked the fossil up and examined it. It appeared to be some sort of head, having had three holes where a human or Gem's eyes and nose would usually be. It was about the same size as their own noggin, and they counted twenty teeth in a rather human-like jaw.

And that was when a creeping feeling of dread started in Peridot's metaphorical stomach. This appeared to be a human skull, and from what they could tell it looked nothing like the old bones in the museum; one could only describe this find as... fresh. However primitive human technology may be, they were still the dominant organic species on Earth and anything that could kill one of them was more than a match for Peridot.

They quickly leaped up from the rock and held the skull out to the centipeedle. "Where did you find this? Is it close? Nyah, why can't you talk!"

Before a full-blown wave of terror could set in, a low, rumbling sound started off in the distance, quiet at first but growing louder and closer as it rolled off the waves. As the sound became more powerful, one could begin to distinguish what it was: a laugh. A deep, booming laugh coming from the very heart of the cold ocean.

The centipeedle hissed, their white hair resembling a lion's mane as it stood on end. Peridot was somewhat less confrontational in their reaction; with a terrified squeak they packed up their blueprints and screamed for the centipeedle as their little legs raced as fast as they could back towards the house.


	7. A Companion's Encouragement

"Log date, 8 12 5. Going outside was a gross miscalculation!" Peridot sat in a thin layer of freezing water in the house, their back pressed up to a counter. "What was I thinking, exposing myself out on the beach? I'm a clod, a ruddy muddy clod! And now-"

The low rumbling laugh shook the house again, and they cried out in terror, burying themselves in the centipeedle's warm mane of white hair. The corrupt Gem did not appear to mind; they were too busy watching for any sign of hostiles and taking care not to drool on their companion.

When the noise died down after a few seconds, as had been the pattern over the course of the last hour, they straightened themselves out, keeping one hand on the centipeedle as they continued recording. "See? It is my fault that we've caught the attention of... whatever that thing is. Oh my stars, it sounds worse than the Cluster!"

The green Gem peeked out of the kitchen for a second to stare at the escape pod they had found and placed near the warp pad.

And there is another problem. That - whatever it is - is in the ocean. Even if it isn't going to directly attack us, my recently recovered escape pod reports the location of my limb enhancers to also be in the ocean. I need the radio wave enhancer chip from them, or else this communicator will be useless for any sort of intergalactic communication. My message will take millions of years to actually reach Homeworld, by which time we will have long been torn apart by the Cluster."

Peridot looked over to the centipeedle, which returned the eye contact with a calm stare.

Could we subdue the thing? From the sound it creates, it should be fairly massive. I have my companion, and here are some basic defence lasers installed in the pod, but I don't know... Nya, I don't know nearly enough about this situation to formulate any sort of plan! There are too many variables: I don't even know what the monster looks like. It's useless! I'm going to die here on this inchoate Gem-forsaken planet when the Cluster emerges, and there's nothing I can do about it! I give up. Peridot, Facet 5... end log."

They clicked the red button, and silence descended on the brooding Gem. They just sat in the cold water, on the uncomfortable floor, staring at the dark shadows the kitchen counters cast in the dying evening light. They were in that desolate shadow.

A crinkling sound made the Gem look to the side, and they saw the centipeedle with its jaw stuck fully into a bag of _Chaaaaaps_.

"Oh." Peridot frowned. "It's just you. You should-" They cut themselves off, and they looked away. "Nyah, what am I saying? Whatever we do we're both going to die soon. I'm no better than you."

Unbeknownst to them, the centipeedle's one eye shot around to stare at them as they finished saying those words.

That laugh rolled off from the ocean once more, and the tiny Gem gripped their knees, drawing them in closer and burying their face in their arms, making small dread-filled whimpering noises. When it died down again, they were alerted to the sound of something loudly crinkling, like a plastic bag.

Peridot looked up, rubbing their eyes underneath their visor. "What is- nyuh?"

The centipeedle was sitting up right in front of them, their jaw partially closed. Peridot arched an eyebrow at this abnormal behaviour. "What do you want?"

With a low groan, the centipeedle picked up a bag of _Chaaaaaps_ and deposited it in the green's Gem's lap.

"Why are you giving me this?" They picked it with a thumb and index, watching sceptically as water dripped steadily from a corner. "I don't require this human food."

The centipeedle of course didn't verbally answer, but something in their body language spoke for them.

"You want me to eat this? No, I won't!"

That gemstone eye looked at the bag, then back at Peridot.

"I won't do it!" The green Gem insisted, waving the bag at their companion. "I'm a Homeworld Gem - you can't make me!"

...

...

With a final hiss, Peridot gripped and tore the bag cleanly in two, letting chips fly everywhere. "Fine. You know what, fine! I guess I will stoop so low as to put this Earth trash in my mouth."

The centipeedle watched attentively as they picked up a chip floating nearby and placed the soggy thing in their mouth. Without any shapeshifted taste buds, the entire experience was rather bland.

"Wow, thanks." Peridot spoke as they chewed, a few flecks flying out of their mouth. "I pity humans for needing to indulge in this practice so often. Now, where does it go after they chew it?"

They looked critically at the gemstone lodged in the centipeedle's throat. There just didn't appear to be anywhere for the matter to _go_ , so after a second of indecision they spat it out.

The green Gem rubbed their mouth, lightly glaring at their companion. "That was an awful experience. What was that supposed to achie-"

The house shook as that low laugh started up again. The small Gem squeaked and curled up in sudden fear, having all but forgotten about the monster. When the sound stopped once more, they looked up to see the centipeedle was standing above them again, a stick of gold stuck in their jaw.

Peridot understood this.

"You want to go back to work on the communicator?" They asked slowly, and began to stand up. "I suppose you are correct. Yellow Diamond would not approve of my giving up, I'm sure. We need to construct this communicator quickly, and I need a face mask to work on the circuitry. You, keep melting that gold; I'll need a lot of it. Let's go!"


	8. Man in the Van

"Antenna." Peridot held out a hand as they sat on a chair by the counter. The centipeedle fished through a collection of spare parts and picked up the desired component with the tip of its jaws.

They gave it to Peridot, who stuck it in place. "Gold."

With a happy grunt, they scampered over and dribbled some of the melted substance on the base of the antenna.

"Duct tape." The green Gem stuck their hand in their companion's white mane and drew out a half full/empty roll. It pulled at little on the hair as it came away, earning a pained yelp. "I'm sorry."

Peridot covered their face with a makeshift welding mask and ripped off a healthy chunk of duct tape, placing it carefully over the hot gold. A dark smoke began to trail in wisps away from the site but the two remained calm, having seen this happen before with no adverse results.

After a second, the smoking stopped. The green Gem pulled the mask away from their face, frowning down at the contraption they had created.

It looked disappointingly primitive. Bits of gold and duct tape stuck out every which way and the screen they had borrowed from Steven's mobile device had been cracked. The audio speaker collected from a music player was taped very off centre, and the entire thing smelled that bit burnt.

Still, if they had designed it properly it should still work. Peridot picked it up with two hands and fiddled with the buttons. After a second the screen turned a bright white, much to their excitement. Then they leaned forwards and spoke:

"This is Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG, performing a test on the Diamond Communicator prototype. Do you hear me?"

For a second, nothing happened. And then the nearby home phone on the kitchen counter clicked into life:

"This is Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG, performing a test on the Diamond Communicator prototype. Do you hear me?" After it delivered the message, it continued playing a static noise.

Peridot's eyes widened, and they looked to the centipeedle. "We did it, didn't we?"

The centipeedle yelped excitedly, scratching at the counter.

"We did it, didn't we?" The phone parroted.

"Nya, shut up for now!" The green Gem hit the off button on the communicator and the static stopped at once. "I can't believe we actually did it. Technically speaking, we're nearly done with this whole project. All I need is the radio wave enhancer chip, and I can contact Yellow Diamond to stop the Cluster!"

Then the smile was wiped off their face.

"All I need is the radio wave enhancer chip, and I can contact Yellow Diamond to stop the Cluster... But _how_?!" They looked through the broken house to the ocean; that monster had stopped laughing, but they had made their presence well known. "I could go get my limb enhancers in my escape pod, but that that thing is still out there."

They shuddered at the thought of those chilling laughs. Before they could continue, the centipeedle turned and began walking out of the house.

"What are you doing, you clod?!" Peridot raced to stop them. "Don't you remember what happened the last time we went outside? The ocean? The human skull? Your ridiculous game of throwing and returning? It's pure madness out there!"

The centipeedle slipped between their legs and jumped down into the sand, before turning and gazing back up at the house. Peridot pulled at their hair, wildly gesticulating for their companion to return before something bad happened.

The green Gem painfully watched them turn around and pad down the beach, almost out of sight. Indecision gripped Peridot for a couple of agonising seconds before they quickly turned and grabbed the communicator, calling 'wait for me!' as they struggled to catch up.

By the time they had reached the centipeedle, they were nearing the doughnut store. Peridot stared at it for a good few seconds, fascinated by the design.

"What is that giant torus doing on the top of the structure?" They wondered out loud. "And why are the windows shattered? Is that some sort of strange human fashion?"

Judging by the other buildings, it was.

Another thing they found strange as they entered the town was the complete lack of people. The two crossed streets littered with shards of glass and the occasional car accident, houses with doors left wide open, all the signs of life without actual life itself. Even with the green Gem's limited knowledge of humans and their behaviour, they knew this to be abnomal.

Eventually they reached a building with a large concrete entrance leading up to an L-shaped building. It had two closed garage doors and a greyed out neon logo of an elephant and the words 'It's A Wash'. Parked in front was a rather colourful van with the word 'UNIVERSE' readable from a distance.

Peridot frowned. "That vehicle looks... familiar. We should investigate further."

The two plainly walked up to the van, inspecting the sides with focused curiosity.

"'Mr Universe'." The green Gem read, looking to the centipeedle. "'Mr' is an honorific in the Earthen language for an adult male, and I do remember Steven's full name to include 'Universe'. I remember now, at Steven's birthday: this man called Greg, Steven's dad, showed up in this van!"

Rather pleased at this detective work, they put their hands on their hips and allowed a satisfied silence to hang for a couple seconds – just long enough to hear a loud snore coming from inside the vehicle.

Peridot jumped and let out a squeak, which they quickly covered up with their own hand. Standing on the metal step attached to the van's front door, they peered in the window and discovered Greg sleeping behind the wheel.

As soon as the green Gem saw this, the man stirred from their sleep, looking around their surroundings confusedly. They ducked down, looking to the centipeedle.

"Run." They hissed, and took one step off the van. The step was much longer than they expected, causing them to grab onto the side of the van for safety. They still fell and faceplanted on the concrete, getting up just in time to see the van door swing open.

The man got out of their vehicle and stared down at Peridot and the centipeedle. "What the-"

"Run!" Peridot squeaked, fearing capture. However, their little legs made it easy for Greg to catch up and grab them by the shoulder.

"Let me go, you human!" They hissed. The centipeedle turned and started growling, saliva running freely down their jaw and dissolving the pavement beneath.

"Whoa, hold on a minute!" Greg kneeled on the concrete, still holding the green Gem's shoulder. "You're Peridot, right? I thought the Crystal Gems put you in the temple after you tried to contact Yellow Diamond."

Peridot groaned and - seeing no other option - turned around to face the human. "...Yes. What's it to you, Earthling? Are you going to take me to the Crystal Gems and bubble me again?"

"No, no!" The human quickly reassured them. "I mean, I would've taken you to them, but they're all gone."

The centipeedle stopped growling, but Peridot was still suspicious. "What are you talking about? Are they on a mission? Is Steven with them?"

"Not exactly." Greg scratched their head. "Steven's safe at Connie's. It's... Well, it's a long story."

Peridot crossed their arms, glaring silently at the human as a sign to start.

Greg sighed and cleared their throat. "Well, I was at my car wash when all of a sudden this giant water hand appeared out of the sea. I didn't want to get involved, but I did drive down to see if the Gems were okay."

"That sounds exceedingly stupid."

"Hey, as long as I have the van I'm pretty safe! Anyway, they were losing pretty badly against this Malachite. I saw Pearl get caught by one of the giant hands and pulled down to I dunno where..." The human stopped to shudder. "Scary stuff."

The green Gem leaned forwards. "Continue."

"Well, the monster left Steven alone and started attacking the town. It was dragging people off into the sea like crazy, so I grabbed my son and went around offering a ride outta here to people. I drove for ages away from Beach City, and when we watched the news we found out Malachite had been doing that to all the coastal cities."

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you return?"

"Well, NORAD's tracking Malachite. She suddenly started heading back this way so they did some smart math and saw she was coming directly towards Beach City. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any survivors... but I think I was a little too tired from the journey." Greg looked over at Peridot and took their hand off the Gem's shoulder. "Did you see anybody else 'round town?"

"No, I did not." The centipeedle groaned, letting their guard down, and Greg looked as though they wanted to ask about it. "Tell me, human. How do we know if this Malachite is coming?"

Greg opened his mouth, but that was when a low, ear splitting roar shook the town. The human covered their ears, and next to them the van's windows shattered.

It was coming from the ocean.


	9. Gem Killer

"The van!" Greg rubbed the sides, looking unhappily at the shattered windows. "Ah man, I just got them replaced."

Peridot was staring at the ocean, their eyes widening in fear. "Human, there are more important things to worry about than your vehicle!"

"What?" The human looked over towards the beach, where a large mane of white hair was rising out of the water. The centipeedle snarled. "Ooh, right. Everybody in the van; Malachite doesn't like going much beyond the coast!"

That was when the centipeedle suddenly darted forwards, foaming at the mouth and growling like a feral animal.

"Wait!" Peridot called, but they had already disappeared. Acting on instinct they bolted after them, ignoring Greg's shouts to come back.

The diamond communicator was still in their hand. They probably should have given it to Greg before they ran, but it was too late now.

Peridot turned and sprinted down a street that headed straight towards the beach. The centipeedle could be seen ahead, jumping over cars and weaving between debris like an acrobat. The green Gem was considerably slower, but they kept on as best they could.

Rounding the corner into the sand, Peridot was just in time to see the centipeedle jump up on the doughnut building, staring up into what was admittedly the scariest looking Gem they had ever seen in their life. They were a bright aquamarine, towering over the beach with four thick hands that acted like legs and wild quartz hair. They had two eyes and a gemstone that acted as a nose.

So this was Malachite. Peridot glanced back at the centipeedle before ducking back down the street and making their way to the doughnut building from the back.

"Hahaha! So this was the creature I saw!" A powerful, echoing voice began speaking. "Strange. You're a Gem, but not like those Crystal ones."

Peridot came up to the back of the doughnut building, where they spied a ladder.

"Nor are you like the fusion experiments. What are you, just some Earthling freak?"

The green Gem reached the top of the building, where they saw the centipeedle looking up at Malachite. The fusion was still so much bigger, but they had leaned down a little to taunt the furious challenger.

"No matter." The waves on the beach began to bubble, and two massive watery hands rose up and began advancing. I've already taken my fair share of freakish prisoners. You're next!"

Peridot reached to grab the centipeedle but their companion jumped off the building, jaws aiming for the yellow Diamond insignia in between the fusion's second set of arms.

They didn't make it. With a horrid laugh, Malachite snatched the centipeedle out of the air with one of their watery hands like an irritating bug. They flipped the corrupt Gem up and caught them again, causing the fierce growling to morph into a more timid whimpering.

"Another one?" Peridot looked up and saw the second set of eyes was trained on them. "Wait... I know you. Peridot!"

The green Gem jumped. "What? How do you know me?"

A second watery hand descended on them. "That's not important. You'll make a good prisoner, and that's all that matters!"

The hand cast a shadow on the green Gem, and they saw only one option available to them. They jumped.

For one terrifying second in the air, Peridot saw themselves smashing their face into the pavement. This jolt of fear prompted them to flail madly in the air, and as a result they painfully belly flopped onto the back of the water hand holding the centipeedle.

"Huh?" The fusion blinked their eyes. Peridot saw their opportunity and crawled to the edge where the centipeedle's head stuck out, raising the diamond communicator high up above their head.

"Now, I'm going to get you free... Nya!" They stuck one of the antennae between the centipeedle and the hand and began pulling. After a second there was a snap and they were thrown backwards, only to find a broken point where the antenna used to be.

"Hahahaha!" Malachite brought the hand closer to their gloating face. "You really thought you could do something with that useless little contraption? You're even more ridiculous than I remembered!"

"It's not useless!" Peridot tried again with the other antenna and achieved the same result: failure. "Nyeh... look, it's not designed for this purpose."

Malachite began moving backwards. "Are you really going to sit there and let me carry you into the ocean? This is priceless, how much you care about this little freak. But it's still futile: unless you plan to cut that puny thing's head off, you can't break my grip!"

The small Gem looked to their damaged communication device, where the two rods of metal had broken into sharp points. This gave them an idea. A very, very horrible one, but perhaps it was the only action they could take that might turn this situation around.

They crawled up to the centipeedle's position once more. Malachite took notice, and started taunting them.

"Oh, come on. What are you going to try this time?"

Peridot raised the communication device above their head.

"Watch out. Don't want to hurt your little friend with that device of yours."

The green Gem took no notice. After a final moment of indecision, they brought down the device and plunged the point of a broken antenna right through the centipeedle's neck, just behind the gemstone.

An awful, piercing cry of agony accompanied this act. They twisted the antenna, and the centipeedle poofed, leaving behind a circular green gemstone which Peridot quickly caught. They looked over to Malachite, who appeared to be utterly frozen in shock.

"What!" They echoed, their four eyes wide as saucers. The green Gem looked down and saw Greg's van was parked at the nearest street.

Malachite shook themselves, and a terrible frown creased their face. Unwilling to find out what the fusion would do to them now having witnessed that, they leapt off the back of the water hand, trying and failing to land on their feet.

"That was... _disgusting_!" A great roaring started up, so Peridot gathered the centipeedle's gemstone and the communicator, stood up, and took off running. A second later, the water hand slapped down on where they had just been, sending sand flying in all directions.

Peridot reached the van, where Greg was waiting with an open back door. They dove into the vehicle, clutching their two possessions and screaming at the top of their lungs: "Drive-drive-drive-drive-drive!"

"On it!" Greg took off down the ruined streets, the back door slamming shut as they gained speed. The small Gem felt the seat vibrate and peeked out the back window.

"Nnnnyyyyaaaa... drive faster! She's catching up with us!"

Greg floored the accelerator. "This isn't exactly a racecar-"

"Drive, you clod!"

"Come back here, you Gem killer!" Malachite screamed. For a big fusion, their four hands didn't lend them a lot of speed. "I'll get you one day, I swear! You'll all be my prisoners! Just you wait!"

Peridot shivered, and climbed into the front seat. There they sat, staring down at the centipeedle's gemstone. They slowly tilted it, watching the shine change with an unreadable expression.

Several minutes elapsed where Greg looked over, opened their mouth, then thought better of it and continued driving. They passed a sign that read 'Leaving so soon? Don't forget to visit Beach City again!'

Then they cleared their throat. Peridot looked up at the noise, and narrowed their eyes suspiciously.

"What was that sound for, human?"

"I just wanted to say, I saw what you did." Greg kept his eyes on the road. The Gem tensed. "I think you did the right thing, even if you don't feel like it was. If you want to talk about it-"

Peridot snorted and turned away. "I did what was necessary. There is no reason to further discuss this issue."

"That's okay, but I'm here if you change your mind. It's a good two hours to the Maheswaran's."

The brooding Gem did not respond. They stared silently out of the window, gently clasping the centipeedle's gemstone in their hands.


	10. New Moon Night

A new moon night descended quickly as the three drove on to Connie's, until only whatever was in the headlights could be perceived outside and only the outlines of the passengers were discernable. Greg got sketched out just glancing at Peridot's faintly glowing eyes and gem as they sped down the roads.

That was why the two of them got so surprised when the centipeedle's gem began to shine in Peridot's lap. The van swerved a little before pulling over on the side.

"She's coming back." Peridot could not hide a note of apprehension in their voice. Greg wanted to say something encouraging, but they doubted anything they'd say would be helpful.

The centipeedle's light-composed body formed around their gemstone. Quartz hair sprouted around a slightly shorter, less jagged jaw and their regenerating main body lacked a pair of pincers on the back. Their stubby little legs formed four little nubs around the ends, much like three fingers and a thumb.

Then they took their final non-glowing shape, and things went haywire fast as the centipeedle still believed themselves to be in a battle situation. They started hissing and spitting, and the sound and smell of something dissolving quickly followed.

"Stop it!" Peridot squeaked as the centipeedle struggled around on their lap. "Stop it, you backwards creature! You're going to get us killed!"

"Open a door, Peridot!"

"How?" Before Greg could reach over, the centipeedle upped and jumped through the shattered window. There it stood, half-shrouded in darkness, shivering and yelping.

Peridot climbed through the window after them. When they landed on the ground, the centipeedle took a step backwards.

"What's gotten into you?" The green Gem frowned, bending down. "Do you... are you hungry? You haven't consumed your repulsive human food in nearly a whole rotation."

The centipeedle remained where it was. Its noise level had dropped to a grunting and groaning level, but its hackles were still raised and it was still shaking like a leaf.

The green gem sighed. "I don't have time for this. We need to reach the Maheswaran's." They reached out and picked up the centipeedle by the first segment of their body. They appeared visibly uncomfortable with this contact, but did not struggle.

Peridot dropped them through the broken window in the back of the van, and saw Greg had opened the door for them in the front.

"Let's go." They sat back down, located the communication device and placed it in their lap. Behind them the centipeedle was pacing on the floor.

Greg grinned. "Alright! Peridot, if you could just put your seatbelt on then we can go."

"Seatbelt?"

"That strap next to your chair. If we crash, it protects you."

Peridot arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying you're going to crash?"

No, no. I like to think of myself as a good driver." Greg tried for a grin. "Earlier when we were getting away from Malachite, I completely forgot about them! That was pretty silly of me but we all make mistakes. Just gotta learn from them!"

Grumbling about Earthlings and their strange traditions, the Gem located the seatbelt and pulled it across their body. "Do I just have to hold it here? This seems exceedingly useless in the event of an accident."

"Here, I'll show you." They switched on a light briefly and clicked the seatbelt in properly. Then they looked back towards the centipeedle. "How're you doing, buddy?"

They received a long, strange groan in return. Even an idiot could tell something was definitely not right with the centipeedle: they weren't sitting down, hadn't let their hair relax and made odd worried sounds periodically. It was as if the centipeedle knew something was wrong, but not exactly what.

"I've put this 'seatbelt' of yours on." Peridot crossed their arms. "Can we go now?"

"Sure, Peridot." With one final glance behind, Greg restarted the engine. They tried to start slowly so as not to agitate their guest in the back, and it appeared to have worked. At least, they didn't look any more concerned than they had before the van started moving.

And so another fifteen minutes of tense silence passed until they reached Connie's city. Peridot's eyes were glued to all the strange lights and signs that flashed by.

After a few more minutes they passed into a street full of houses, most of the windows darkened in this late hour. They pulled up against one home in particular that had one lit room on the bottom floor.

"This is it." Greg opened their door, and then the back one. Peridot and the centipeedle got out of the van. "Ah, let me talk to Connie's mother first. She's not really used to all of this Gem stuff yet."

So Peridot and the centipeedle stayed by the van whilst Greg walked over and rang the doorbell. The centipeedle was still restless; its head darted this way and that to look around its surroundings, constantly groaning and fidgeting. Peridot found this irritating.

"What is wrong with you?" The green Gem hissed, and their companion flinched. "You have already had time to calm down." They paused. "Is it... because of what happened, earlier? Did... do you even remember what I did?"

Nothing but an anxious groan came in answer. Peridot crossed their arms.

"If only you could talk."

That was when the door to the house swung open. "Dr Maheswaran!" Greg greeted a rather stony-faced woman. "I'm back! How's Steven?"

"Steven is in bed." Dr Maheswaran frowned. "What are you doing, calling me so late about these 'survivors'? Just because I'm willing to entertain the existence of these magical Gem creatures does not mean I'll allow my house to turn into a petting zoo full of them."

"I understand completely. Don't worry, I've only brought two of them; they'll only stay for a really short time and they'll be on their best behaviour. You won't even notice them!"

"I'll be the judge of that."

Greg motioned to the two. "Come on, Peridot and... your friend! They're just a little nervous, don't worry..."

Peridot and the centipeedle made their way up to the front door. Dr Maheswaran took one look at the four-legged Gem and vehemently shook their head.

"I'll let this green one stay, but that animal has to be tied up outside."

The Gem looked up. "What? You can't-"

"I see your point," Greg hastily interrupted. "But don't you think you're judging the little guy a little too hastily? Sure, he looks a little... eh..."

"Dangerous?" Dr Maheswaran arched an eyebrow. "That thing is dissolving my pavement."

"But-"

"No buts. This is my house, and I make the rules." The woman pointed to a gate next to the house. "That leads to our garden. Tie your little pet up out there, and then you can come inside."

With that, they left the door. Greg caught it and turned to Peridot.

"I'm sorry. I tried, but she's still getting used to the whole Gem thing."

"This situation is managable." Peridot rolled their eyes. "I've done worse."

Greg scratched the back of their head. "Oh, right. Maybe... you don't have to actually tie him up?"

A leash came flying out of the open door, where it hit Greg's stomach and fell to the floor. The green Gem picked it up.

Greg opened their mouth, but yet again he second guessed himself and walked inside, gently closing the door behind themselves. Peridot and the centipeedle turned and approached the gate, which opened with a simple push.

The centipeedle ran ahead, skipping a little in the neatly cut open grass. It occurred to Peridot that they may not have enjoyed being cooped up in Greg's van for any length of time.

They pulled out the leash and examined it. It was of a plain black ropy texture, with one metal circle attaching an end of the leash to the middle and forming a loop. The other end consisted of a much smaller loop just the right size for their fingers, so they assumed the first was what one slipped around a creature's neck to control them.

There was a sniffing sound, and the green Gem looked down to see the centipeedle was slowly approaching Peridot. They seemed to have calmed down after their run, and were now curious about the leash.

The green Gem held out the rope, and the centipeedle stood up on their hind legs to get a closer look. They shuffled awkwardly forwards like a toddler, leaning in just close enough to touch it with the tip of their snout.

Peridot tentatively reached out and placed a hand on the back of the centipeedle's jaw, on the side. Then they ran their fingers through their wonderful white hair, feeling the softness. The centipeedle stood silent, pushing their head affectionately into the touch.

And that was the moment when the green Gem slipped a leash onto their neck. The centipeedle instinctively could tell something had changed; with a grunt they pushed themselves away and back onto four legs, only to feel the rope straining behind their jaw.

Peridot tried to lead the centipeedle towards a fence post, but they refused to budge. "Hey, you heard that human. We have to tie you up."

The centipeedle stood frozen, staring at Peridot with one wide gemstone eye.

"Come on! Come... on... we... gotta..." The small Gem pulled with all the strength they had. The only thing they succeeded in doing was tightening the loop around the centipeedle's neck.

When it began to cut into the corrupt Gem, they snapped.

With a single bite, they snipped the leash in half, causing Peridot to stumble and sit down hard on the grass.

"Hey!" The green Gem scrambled to their feet. "I'm supposed to tie you up. You can't just... break the leash like that!"

The centipeedle turned around and began trudging towards the wall at the end of the garden.

"What are you doing?" Peridot caught up to the centipeedle and reached out a hand. "Stay here whilst I get another-"

It was there that Peridot stopped talking. They had stopped talking because the centipeedle had tackled them and pinned them to the grassy ground, jaws inches from their face, a feral growl emanating from their throat. They didn't attack further but the message was crystal clear: _back off_.

After a second, the centipeedle pushed themselves off of Peridot. The green Gem sat up, dazed, and confusedly watched them run to the wall and leap up it in one bound.

"What was that for?" Peridot stood up. "Wait, where are you going?"

The centipeedle turned and began running down the walls that separated the house's gardens. In a matter of seconds, they had completely disappeared into the new moon night.

"Wait!" The small Gem tried to climb the wall, but its smooth stone would give even the best climber considerable difficulty. "Why are you leaving? What'd I do? Don't go! Don't leave me!"

"You!" There was a noise from the Maheswaran's house, and Peridot looked over to see the woman standing in the doorway. "You're going to wake the neighbours. If you're done with your little creature, then you should come inside at once."

Peridot gave one final glance towards the wall. They rubbed underneath their visor with three fingers. "I did something."

"Then come inside. Don't let me regret allowing you you stay."

From the shadows, one gemstone eye watched Peridot closely as they trudged their way into the house. And then they fled.


	11. Battle Preparations

Peridot was sitting sullenly on the breakfast table, staring into their untouched bowl of mushy cereal when they were suddenly tackled to the ground.

"Everybody, look out!" Steven pinned the squirming Gem to the floor. "Peridot got out of the Temple somehow!"

"Nya, get your touch stumps off of me!" A pink sword appeared from behind them, and they looked to see a rather angry-looking young girl holding it. "And you, get that thing away from me! What are you two doing?"

"What are you doing here?" Steven demanded, their frowning expression deeply contrasted by their banana pyjamas. "How did you get unbubbled! Tell me, please!"

Dr Maheswaran stood above Steven, and grabbed them by the back of their pyjamas. "Excuse me, that is no way to treat a guest in my house. Connie, put away that sword _now_."

"Wha-?" Steven looked at Dr Maheswaran in bewilderment.

Peridot got up and brushed themselves off, glaring over at Greg. "I thought you told Steven."

"Told me what?"

"Yeah." Connie put their hands on their hips. "Told him what?"

"Ah, I'm sorry guys." Greg made a face. "I was going to tell Steven last night about what happened, but it was so late, and you were sleeping so peacefully!"

"Tell me what?" Connie's mother put down Steven, and they immediately ran over to Peridot. "Why is she here? She betrayed us, don't you remember?"

"You think I betrayed you?"

Greg stood up and walked over to their son. "Look, bud. I don't know how Peridot got out, but she's willing to help us with Malachite. I know you miss Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, don't you?"

"Yeah." Steven mumbled, causing Peridot to arch a sceptical eyebrow. Then they looked over to the green Gem. "What's that thing in your hands?"

They held up the communicator. "This? This is my communicator that I built to replace the one you shattered."

The room turned dead silent. Steven stared pointedly at their father, who looked stricken.

"What?" They demanded. "I know you Crystal clods are disillusioned, but Yellow Diamond will stop the Cluster as soon as she gets word about how worthy this planet is! Much easier than drilling halfway to the centre of the Earth."

The round of silent stares were not an encouraging audience.

"And it, eh, doesn't work yet anyway, which is why I'm helping you. I still need a Homeworld chip from my limb enhancers. They're in the middle of the ocean, which is also the location of your Malachite. If we work together, I can get my chip and you can get your Crystal Gems! It's perfect!"

After a hesitation, Steven took a step forwards. "You weren't ever trying to betray us to Yellow Diamond?"

"Of course not." Peridot frowned. "What function would that serve? I took the communicator to notify my Diamond that this planet was worth much more than the Cluster, and to mention the Crystal Gems would be a miscalculation."

Connie walked over and whispered in Steven's ear. Greg looked nervously between Peridot and their son, scratching the back of their head. Peridot's fingers gripped the communicator tightly as they prayed Steven would see reason.

Dr Maheswaran crossed their arms. "Everyone's breakfast is getting cold. You kids can wrap this up fast and come sit down, or discuss it later."

Peridot stretched their lips into a nervous smile, and stuck a hand out to Steven in the human fashion they had learned. "Do... do we have an agreement?"

Steven grinned back and grabbed their hand. "Of course! I was so wrong about you, but now-"

"Nya!" The green Gem pulled away. "What are you doing to my touch stumps?"

"Oh, this? I'm just shaking your hand. It's just what you do when you make an agreement."

"You told me you just stick your 'hand' out. You mentioned nothing about this shaking motion!"

"Oh, sorry." Steven cheered up again. "But hey, it's time for breakfast! You can sit between me and Connie, and then afterwards we can tell you all about what we've been doing to stop Malachite..."

~Line Break~

"The living room." Peridot started speaking as they struggled up onto a couch. "Used by humans to conduct various time wasting activities. Why did you bring me here, rather than this 'secret HQ' you were telling me about?"

"Because, this is the secret HQ! Isn't it cool?" Steven grinned widely at the green Gem, who merely crossed their arms and leaned back, staring suspiciously at the boy.

"I see several flaws with this 'secret' HQ of yours." They transferred their glare to the open windows.

Connie picked up on this, and ran over. "Oh, right! It can't be secret if everybody can see in!" They pressed a button, and the blinds began coming down. The room got quite dark, so they turned on a couple lights. "Steven, have you got that video going yet?"

Steven jumped up next to Peridot, fiddling with an Ipad. "Yeah, I think so."

The green Gem looked over at the device. "NO-RAD tracks Malachite... what is this?"

"It's the North American Aerospace Defence Command." Connie explained as they sat next to Peridot. "They're a military organisation that provides air defence for America, but everyone knows them as the people who track Santa."

"Santa?"

Steven sat up. "You haven't heard of Santa? Oh, man! He's this big jolly guy dressed in red who flies around in a magical sled pulled by reindeer to deliver presents to every kid each Christmas! He goes down people's chimneys, and eats their cookies if you leave 'em out!"

Peridot didn't entirely know what to say about this new information.

"But we can explain Santa later." Connie gently interrupted. "Steven, can I have the Ipad?"

"Here you go!"

"Thanks." They zoomed out on the map. "So you can see all of the Malachite sightings with red dots. Notice anything about their locations?"

The green Gem frowned. "They are all around this central ocean terrain."

"That's the Atlantic ocean. And yes, you're right: all of Malachite's attacks have been on a coastal town touching the Atlantic, so it seems she has to be somewhere in the middle."

"Ohhh." Peridot nodded. "Yes, that is an accurate assumption. But how does that help?"

Steven reached over. "Sorry for reaching, Dot. Can I have it please?"

"It's all yours."

The boy opened a sort of painting app. "Okay! So we're here, and including ours there are fourteen warp pads across the world. Eight of them are in the ocean or near a beach. Those are the one near Cuba, two in Norway, the sea spire one up in Russia, ours in Beach city and the Galaxy Warp, the time device thingy and another one that goes to a deserted beach island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."

"So?"

"So, we might not be able to beat Malachite in one fight. _But_ ," Steven held up a finger. "That doesn't mean we can't have multiple different fights!"

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "You mean, we can warp to different locations whenever this Malachite is about to beat us?"

"Exactly!"

"Huh. That plan is... not as terrible as I first thought it would be." They jumped off the couch. "What equipment do we need?"

"We need a big shooty thing." Steven spoke in a perfectly serious manner. "Something that shoots things at Malachite until they poof."

"What kind of 'shooty thing'?"

Connie spoke up. "Well, Greg has a harpoon."

"A harpoon? Is that some sort of 'shooty thing'?"

"Kinda. It was used for hunting these big animals called whales, so maybe it'll be useful for Malachite. Onion's dad gave Steven's dad his; he wanted him to sell it after his shitp was destroyed." Connie crossed their arms. "I don't know how we'll move it, though."

"We could attach it to my escape pod. It was severed in half when I found it, but I welded the two halves together."

"That's a great idea!" Steven beamed. "One of us could drive it around, and the other could sit on top and shoot with it! Pew, pew pew!"

"I can operate it. You can sit on top of it with the harpoon."

"Sounds great, Dot!"

Peridot rolled their eyes and grumbled something about the survival instinct of Earthlings.

Connie stood up. "Okay, so we have some sort of plan. We can work out the details later, but for now I need to work out what I'm going to tell my mother so that she might still let me go."

"Alright!" Steven began to follow. "Peri, you can come if you want. But aww man, I can't wait to see Garnet, Amythest and Pearl again! I've been missing them so much!"

As they disappeared, Peridot arched an eyebrow. Softly, in a voice only they could hear, they said, "Your behaviour suggests otherwise."


	12. Precipice

To everyone's utter shock and surprise, Dr Maheswaran would not allow their daughter Connie to assist in the poofing of a homicidal fusion monster. This resulted in something like an argument between the two, which cumulated in Greg, Steven, Peridot (and Onion, I think) getting kicked out of the house.

"I can't take this anymore." The woman had told them at the door. "I'm sorry, but you three have to leave, now."

Peridot didn't really mind about this. They did mind returning to Beach City, and dragged their feet as they looked for small, white-haired centipeedles that they might be leaving behind.

"Peridot, you coming?" Greg had called, and with a final glance around they jumped in the van. And there they stayed, staring silently out the window as Greg ad Steven chatted fondly about the Crystal Gems.

"And you remember that time when Pearl, Amethyst and me formed Secret Team to pick up these Gem shards?"

"No I don't, bud. I don't think you told that to me."

"Really? Ah, man! So Pearl and Amethyst broke this bubble that had loads of Gem shards in it..."

The green Gem tuned out, deciding that these strange stories were of no use to them. They continued staring out at the environment, sullenly counting trees. The father and son had tried to include them earlier on in the conversation, but enough monosyllabic answers made them take the hint they wanted to be left alone.

And alone they were. It was like the first few days they had been stranded on Earth; scared, in a hostile environment, missing home. And then they found the Crystal Gems, and – after a couple of skirmishes – started to feel a little better about themselves.

But then they tried to contact Yellow Diamond, and that blew it for them. After that they had the centipeedle, but now something they had done had ruined that as well and here they were, back where they started: scared, in a hostile environment, missing someone.

Before they could ruminate on that, however, a flash of white caught their eye as they sped down the road. They sat up straight and looked back but it seemed they either were moving too fast, or the Gem was going slightly crazy.

"...And then Garnet was like, 'We're all part of one team: the Crystal Gems! And then we all ripped up our pizza vouchers."

Greg cast a quick glance at their son. "Oh, that's a good one! It sounds just like Garnet."

"Yeah! I can't wait to see her again!"

Peridot narrowed their eyes at the back of Steven's seat.

"Look, the sign!" Greg pointed at a large roadway poster reading : _'Welcome to Beach City_!' "We're pretty much there. Peridot, have you got-"

"The harpoon?" The green Gem shifted the heavy weapon forwards. "Yes, I do have the harpoon."

The three drove on, slowing down as they came into the town as the streets were still filled with debris. Greg pulled up on the road right next to the beach, and there he stopped.

"Okay kids, I think this is my stop." They took the key out of the ignition and turned around to look at Peridot. "Though maybe I could help carry that big old thing?"

The green Gem glared, and stood up. "No! No, I don't need your help. I can..." They reached down and grasped the harpoon. "I can... carry... this... Nyah, stupid thing... on my own!"

"Alright, but if you need somebody, I'm sure Steven would be happy to help."

Steven gave a thumbs up, which only further infuriated the Gem. "I told you, I'm fine! But, Nyuh... Can somebody open this door now?"

"I'll get it." Steven jumped out of the van and opened the door, watching concernedly as Peridot struggled out, their knees knocking as they attempted to support the harpoon on their own. Then they looked back at their father.

Greg moved over a seat and ruffled their son's hair, their eyes a little misty. "Be safe, bud. Don't let your old man run fresh out of family, okay?"

"I won't, dad." Steven reached up and hugged their father tightly. "I'll call you when it's finished. Peridot and I will bring the Gems right back, won't we?"

The small Gem snorted, adjusting their grip on the harpoon. "Can we get moving? We don't have... time for emotional goodbyes."

"Alright." Greg withdrew and sat back in the driver's seat. "Good luck, guys. I'll see you later!"

The van started up again, and began to reverse. Steven and Greg continued to wave at each other until they were quite a distance away, at which point Peridot nudged them with the point of the harpoon.

Steven looked over. "Okay! Let's go, Dot!"

The two stepped onto the beach and began walking towards the Temple. Peridot struggled on slowly with the heavy harpoon, causing their companion to slow down and walk silently next to them.

Peridot glanced up. "I don't... I don't need your help... Steven."

"Okay." Steven spoke evenly. There was a pause, and then they started again: "I was just wondering if you're okay."

"And why would you be concerned about that?"

"Because we're friends." The boy answered simply. Peridot huffed in response. "I think something's really bothering you, though. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing... seems to be bothering you." The Gem muttered. The ruins of the Temple loomed closer.

Steven frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Peridot shot a glare at the boy. "What am I talking about?! It's like... you haven't even noticed those Crystal Gems are gone...you pebble!"

"What?" They stopped dead in the sand, then rushed to catch up to the green Gem as they struggled up the slope to the house. "Wait! Peridot, what do you mean?"

"Like... you don't miss them." They puffed. "When you miss somebody... you feel... small... and you can't stop thinking about them... But you... you're still smiling and... happy!"

Steven vehemently shook their head. "No! That's not how missing somebody works."

"It's how... it works for me. How can you be happy... when you're missing someone?" The Gem struggled into the house, followed closely by Steven.

"Everyone's different, Peridot!" Steven sniffed, tears running down their face. "I miss Garnet and Amethyst and Pearl so much. I was just... really happy that now we have a chance at rescuing them. Do you understand?"

"You are crying." The small Gem noticed. A sinking feeling in their chest weighed them down heavier than the harpoon ever did. "Did... did I hurt your... feelings?"

Steven wiped a tear away with the back of their hand. "Well, yeah."

The green Gem gripped the harpoon a little tighter. "I don't understand."

"Well, you were asking me about whether I missed my family. It was kind of- ohhhhhh..." The boy placed a hand on the harpoon. "I know why you're acting strangely. You're missing something!"

"What?" Peridot backed off sharply, panting as they held the harpoon with difficulty. "I don't... 'miss' anything. I'm... a Homeworld Gem; your strange... strange human emotions mean... nothing to me!"

Steven stepped forwards. "But you do. Do you miss Homeworld?"

"No!"

"Then what?" They held out their hands. "Come on, Peri. We're friends! You can talk to friends about stuff like this. Please?"

Peridot eyed the human suspiciously, to which they responded with a smile. Slowly, grudgingly, the Gem turned to face them and placed one end of the harpoon in their hands.

Everything felt much lighter.

"Wow!" Steven's eyes widened as the two of them began moving towards the escape pod. "This is really heavy. How long have you been carrying it around for?"

"You have no idea."

~Line Break~

Peridot twisted in the last screw, firmly securing the harpoon to the top of the escape pod. "So then - you named them the 'centipeedle', correct? – the centipeedle jumped up onto the wall and ran away. It was not the correct response."

"She probably didn't want to get tied up." Steven was tying a replicator to the back of the harpoon; that way, they wouldn't run out of harpoons at the first shot. "Pearl chained her to a rock once, and she didn't like that."

"But what was I supposed to do instead? The Dr Maheswaran would not let me in the house otherwise."

"I don't know." Steven slid off the pod. "Maybe one day she'll come back? And then you can say sorry and make up. Yeah, that'd be really great!"

"Nyehhh..." The green Gem climbed down and into the escape pod. They activated it and moved their hands, testing the response. Despite the damage, it moved perfectly well. "Ahem... the pod is operational. Test the harpoon."

Steven clambered back up to behind the harpoon, and fired it. It punched through the air, arcing up and down and plopping in the ocean a long way away. They then activated the replicator, and another harpoon spear appeared in the firing device.

"You know." A worried crease formed between the boy's eyebrows. "I'm not sure if I feel comfortable shooting this at anybody."

Peridot stuck their head out of the pod to glare at Steven. "What are you talking about? This is the only way to defeat Malachite!"

"Maybe if we talk to her, she'll see how many people she's hurt and she'll release everyone."

"Pfft. That will never happen, you clod!" They withdrew into the escape pod. "Besides, you can either drive or shoot in this pod. And you can't drive it! Nya-haha!"

"Actually-"

A deep, ocean roar bellowed out from the horizon, causing the Green Gem to squeak in terror and the boy to fall off the top of the pod. In the distance one could see a large hump of ocean, much higher than the surrounding water. It appeared to be moving towards them.

Peridot recovered their composure. "It's Malachite, Steven!"

"On it!" Steven hopped up onto the top of the pod. "I'm ready to do this!"

The green Gem moved their hands, and walked the escape pod to the edge of the house. There they stood, on the precipice of battle.

They were ready, and so was the centipeedle.


	13. A Field of Bones, Part 1

The rolling hump of water came right up to the beach, where it crashed against the temple walls and receded, leaving Malachite still a head and shoulders above the two in their escape pod.

Their two eyes rolled down to look at the duo. Then they roared again: " _GEEEEEEEMMMMMM KILLLLLEEEERRRRR_!"

Peridot's eyes went wide. "Oh my stars. Steven, fire the harpoon!"

"What?"

"Fire the harpoon!" The roaring stopped and the ocean rose up above Malachite, casting a dark shadow on the duo. "Fire it now fire it now _fire it now_!"

"Hey, Malachite!" Steven waved. "Do you, um, think you could put the ocean down for a second? We can talk about this!"

"I'll never negotiate with a filthy Gem killer!" Malachite snarled.

Before they could be hit with the full force of the fusion's rage, Peridot jumped up and activated the harpoon. It flew through the air and punched into Malachite's abdomen, looking less like a deadly weapon and more like a little metal toothpick.

Nevertheless, the monster let out a terrible scream of pain and stumbled back, their summoned water splashing onto their head. After a second, they recovered and turned their full furious attention on the escape pod.

"Run!" Steven shouted from above, and the green Gem needed no further encouragement. They dashed to the warp pad, hearing a loud smash from just behind them, avoiding falling bits of roof.

Upon reaching the warp pad, a white light surrounded them and they were safe. The two let out a large sigh of relief.

Then Peridot looked up. "You clod. Why did you even try to reason with them?"

"I didn't want to hurt them." Steven spoke in a small voice. "Maybe they would have listened if we didn't shoot them with the harpoon?"

"Nyaaah..." The warp ended, and they found themselves at the Gem island the invisible monster had been living at. Peridot hopped out of the pod. "Alright, look. I'll fire the harpoon, and you can drive. Let me teach you-"

"Actually," Steven slid off and jumped in the pod. "I drove this once. It's really easy, you just do... this!"

They moved their hands, and the pod began walking around the green Gem.

"Wow!" Peridot then shook themselves. "Alright, fine. You can drive, and I can fire the harpoon."

They hopped on the top of the pod, and positioned themselves behind the harpoon before giving the signal to be off. They then spent the next thirty seconds holding on for dear life as they faced through the jungle path and came out at a beach.

"How are you doing up there?" Steven asked.

"I'm... fine." The green Gem then cleared their throat. "I mean, I'm fine! Your driving skill is-"

There was a rustle in the bushes behind them, causing Peridot to turn and look. But when they did so, they saw nothing out of place.

"Peridot?"

"Adequate." The Gem turned sharply around. "Your driving skills are adequate for this mission. Are you prepared for the next round with Malachite?"

"Yes, sir!" Steven responded, and so Peridot fired a harpoon into the water. Almost immediately, a roar started up in the distance. It was a few minutes later that Malachite was visible on the horizon, riding a tidal wave and wearing a murderous expression.

Steven backed up. "She doesn't look like she wants to talk, does she?"

"I'm not holding back!" The small Gem aimed and fired, but Malachite was still a little out of range. They waited a second, shot again and must've hit somewhere, because the fusion monster cried out and toppled into the water. The wave kept going, however.

Steven turned once more and ran to the warp pad, reaching it in good time. The boy offered a high five to Peridot in the warp stream, but they not-so-politely turned down the offer.

This time, they arrived at the Galaxy Warp. Peridot looked down at the water.

"So, this is the spot where you dumped my limb enhancers."

"Oh, sorry." Steven cringed a little. "We can go get them back right now if you want."

"I guess I am obliged to accept your ap- wait, what?" The green Gem peeked into the inside of the pod. "Did you say we could go and get them? But what about Malachite?"

"This warp pad is a really long way from the island." Steven pressed something. "We should have a few minutes before she gets here and besides, they're right here."

The boy walked the pod up to the edge of the Galaxy Warp, and pointed straight down at the water.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Peridot grinned. "Oh, my stars. I've missed my limb enhancers so much!"

Steven pressed a button. "Hold on tight!" The open window of the escape pod closed, and it began to levitate off the ground. Rather jerkily, they lowered themselves into the sea as Peridot hung onto the harpoon.

As soon as they touched the ocean, a distant roar could be heard. But the two continued, Peridot switching on their gemstone light to see better. Almost immediately, they happened upon a couple of green metal cylinders, buried a little in the sand.

With an inaudible bubbling noise of excitement, the green Gem hopped off the pod and grabbed all their limb enhancer pieces, hugging them to their chest lovingly. After the initial reunion they made short work of putting them all on again, noting with some irritation that the foot was back at the barn. Nevertheless they happily wiggled their detached fingers, holding them up to the gemstone light to admire them.

That was when they saw something in the darkness of the ocean. Lowering their hands, they looked a little closer.

It was a collection of white things that shone brightly in the light. The green Gem knocked lightly on Steven's escape pod and began to limp their way towards it. When they reached the site, they kneeled down and took a closer look.

It was a collection of bones, picked clean. Some were large and knobby, covered in a light layer of sand. Others were small, only about the size of something like human wrist bones. In the centre of the pile was a very strange, shimmering blue chain.

Peridot had a very bad feeling of déjà vu as they brought up a scanner on their limb enhancers and analysed one of the bones. They could feel the escape pod tensely hanging over them as the scanner finished and printed the words:

 _Object identified as a human clavicle._

They scanned the blue chain:

 _Object identified as a dihydrogen monoxide construct. Chemical extremely dangerous and should be handled with care._

Malachite, they thought. Then they stood up and looked around; there were other piles of remains placed in a roughly regular pattern, stretching on and on into the darkness and the silence and the death of the ocean.

The sight sent chills down their spine. Somewhat urgently, they turned and knocked on Steven's escape pod. The boy immediately got the message and lowered the vehicle to let their companion on.

Peridot's body felt strange with the added length and weight of the limb enhancers, but they eventually managed to scramble back up to their position behind the harpoon. The two immediately flew back up to the Galaxy Warp.

"Oh, my stars." Was the first thing out of the green Gem's mouth. They allowed themselves to slide off the back of the pod. "That was a large number of deceased humans."

Steven did not respond.

"Steven?" Peridot got up and limped over to the front of the pod. "You can exit the flight mode now. Communication is currently a more tactical advantage than levitation."

They could see the figure of the boy inside; they were shrugging.

"Do you... not know how to exit the flight mode?"

A shake of the head indicated they did not.

The green Gem sighed deeply, their mechanical fingers twitching in exasperation. "Oh, brilliant. It can only be deactivated inside the pod by using a very specific code. Can I ask why you activated the flight mode in the first place, _if you didn't know how to deactivate it_?"

The silhouette of the boy was pointing to something behind Peridot, but they were too incensed to notice.

"We're on an important mission to defeat this Malachite, who is systematically imprisoning and drowning your human kind!" The Gem shouted. "And what do you do? You go and lock yourself in the escape pod. It's so... you're so... Nyaaaagh, you... clod! You're a clod, Steven!"

Steven was still wildly pointing over the green Gem's shoulder.

"What? What is it? Is it... Malachite?" That was when they noticed a dark shadow was tracing its way across the Galaxy Warp, and they realised. "Don't tell me. It's Malachite, isn't it."

"Gem killer!" Malachite growled.

"Of course." The Gem sighed. Then a pair of their lower hands rose up out of the ocean and smashed down on the Galaxy Warp platform, and I decided to stop beating this dead horse of a trope.

"Eep!" Peridot took one step back on their missing foot and toppled over. They took out their hand cannon and began firing, but the yellow bolts seemed to have no effect on Malachite.

"Gem killer." The fusion monster hissed. Peridot attempted to get up, but a wave of water slammed over them and formed into a fist, keeping them stuck on the floor with the weight of the planet's ocean.

The green Gem struggled, but the effort appeared futile. "Nyah, what do you want? With me... with those humans..."

Malachite spoke in that strange, echoey voice. "The humans? I wanted some company. But you?" They laughed, and the water squeezed tighter. "I guess you don't even remember Homeworld by now. You're pathetic; you followed their rules to the letter on planet, but as soon as you arrive on Earth you think you can go around destroying Gems?"

"You're a fusion." Peridot retorted, but instantly regretted their words.

The fist squeezed even tighter. "Silence! Do you at least recall what the punishment is for destroying a Gem's physical form?"

Peridot began to tremble. "N-no! No! You can't harvest somebody on Earth, it's not possible!"

Malachite raised one of their hands, and a thin trail of water began to rise up from the ocean. Their four eyes, gleaming with madness, stared unblinking down at the terrified Gem. "You mean, it's never been attempted."

They raised their hand higher, and the water arced over their shoulder, hanging directly over Peridot. "I'll make you feel all the pain I felt ever since we arrived on this miserable rock! And when I'm done with you, you might have just enough conscience left to witness the end of the world, when the Cluster tears us all apart and this _finally ends_!"

Peridot turned their head to the side, squeezing their eyes shut. Tears streamed freely from their eyes.

There was the screeching sound of metal being ripped in two. Wait-

A cold, slimy wetness splashed on Peridot's face. They looked up in surprise, only to see a familiar boy standing on the water hand, surrounded by a pink bubble. On either side were the split remains of the escape pod, still sparking.

"What is this?"Malachite's four eyes widened in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

Steven dissipated the bubble, and glared up at the fusion. "Lapis Lazuli!" They shouted. "I know you're in there somewhere. Please, stop fighting!"

A dark, pained frown creased Malachite's features. "I am not Lapis! I'm not Jasper, either. I'm Malachite!"

"Please!" The boy pleaded. "Do you remember beach summer fun buddies? When I freed you from the mirror? When I healed your Gem?"

"Stop it!" Malachite hissed. Their face seemed to distort for a moment, their two sets of eyes drifting away for a moment before snapping back into place. "Stop trying to help me! We- I don't want your help!"

The water fist that had been holding Peridot deformed into a puddle. The green Gem could only sit there and stare as Steven continued talking, completely oblivious to the sound of a warp pad going off behind them.

"This isn't you!" The boy walked slowly over and touched one of the massive hands supporting Malachite on the Galaxy Warp. "You don't want to hurt people! You just want to go home! Remember?"

All of a sudden, Malachite flashed a fanged smile. "No, Steven. For once you're wrong."

The foot-hand Steven was touching suddenly kicked forwards and pinned the boy underneath.

"Steven!" Peridot jumped up, and limped as fast as they could to their friend's aid.

"I don't want to go back home. Because that's not home anymore!" Malachite shouted. "Not after everything we've been through! Nowhere's home for me anymore. I just... I just want to give up."

Just when Peridot reached the hand, it suddenly tightened.

"But I can't. Jasper won't let me."

Then it swung and threw the boy out to sea.

The green Gem's horrified eyes followed a small silhouette as it hurtled away from the Galaxy Warp, out into the sea.

"Steven..."

That was when a small flash of white zipped past, almost as if it was running on water. This confused the Gem, but before they could make any further observations they found themselves grabbed and pinned with a wave of water to the Homeworld Warp. The water formed chains around their four limbs, and stretched them out.

Malachite kept their eyes cast downwards as they summoned another thin spike of water. "Let's just get this over with."


	14. A Field of Bones, Part 2

"Hey..." Peridot flashed an innocent smile as the spike of water hung just above them. "You know about the Cluster? Look, I have a plan to stop it! So... you don't have to harvest me!"

The fusion did not respond.

"Okay, you're not answering me. That's... fine! Fine! I've dealt with silent Gems before: you just keep rambling on and on, slowly descending into nonsensical madness as you keep hoping they do something..."

The spike of water began descending on Peridot's gemstone. They gulped.

"...Something you understand?" They went cross-eyed as the spike lowered even further.

"Hey, dirt bomb!" There was a shout from behind, causing both Peridot and Malachite to turn their heads and stare.

And there they saw Steven, arms crossed. Alive.

"You're alright..." Malachite started softly, and then they frowned. "Did you just call me a dirt bomb?"

Steven looked over to the other side of the Galaxy Warp and waved at a tall, dark, hooded figure. "Hey! That's not nice, centipeedle!"

"And that's not my name, pal!" The figure called back, and flipped back their hood. A single green gemstone eye in the centre of their face and a cocky fanged smile was all that could be seen amid a wild mass of quartz hair. They pointed directly at Malachite.

"I'm Aventurine, and if you don't let go of my pie-sliced friend, then I'll make you!"

Peridot was too shocked to register the insult.

Malachite summoned another hand of water and smashed it down on Aventurine. They continued standing there, still grinning confidently.

"So be it, dirt bomb!" At the very last second they launched themselves out of reach, jumping off the side of a pillar and nimbly landing on the fusion's hip before summoning a small black-bladed dagger and holding it in a reverse grip, edge out. Malachite swatted at them but they danced away, landing a slash on the side of the fusion's hand.

"Argh, get off of me!" Peridot suddenly found the water chains holding them down dissipated as Malachite turned their full attention to the fight. Almost immediately Steven was at their side, helping them up.

Peridot stood up shakily. "Is that-?"

"Yep, that's the centipeedle." The boy answered happily. "Isn't she cool?"

As they watched, Malachite finally caught Aventurine. With a terrible laugh, they brought them right up to their four eyes, the dagger clattering on the ground and disappearing.

"Hah!" The fusion grinned triumphantly. "You caught me by surprise, but now the game is over. I've won, and you're going to suffer for this!"

"Oh, yeah?" Aventurine didn't sound concerned in the slightest. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that, fishbreath!"

Malachite raised an eyebrow. "What are you-"

Aventurine spat acid right in the fusion's face. With a roar of pain, they let go of the Gem to cover their wounded features.

They landed gracefully on the ground in front of Steven and Peridot. The boy's eyes had gone starry in amazement.

"Wow! I always thought you were cool when you were all centipeedle-y but... you're awesome!"

"What can I say?" The tall Gem flicked their thick hair back. "I missed a good fight."

Peridot looked over at Malachite, who had recovered from the attack, their bottom set of eyes shut tightly. "What's the plan?"

"Plan? Nope, that's not my purpose." Aventurine turned around, summoning a replacement dagger. "I think Steven was talking about something when I was carrying him back here, you guys should-"

"Look out!" Peridot pointed at a giant water hand coming down on Aventurine. They darted to the side, laughing.

"Nice miss!" They taunted, enraging Malachite. Peridot let out a sigh of relief before their eyebrows knitted into a frown.

"What are you doing?" The smaller Gem scolded. "You're going to get yourself killed if you don't pay attention to the battle!"

"Oh, don't worry about me, pieslice." Aventurine flashed a grin. "I know this type: the slow angry big guys. They couldn't land a hit on me if they-"

That was when another water hand came out of the ocean and smacked Aventurite, sending them flying into a pillar. They quickly jumped to their feet, the grin wiped off their face.

"Oh, so this is how you want to play it? Let's go, fishbreath!" They summoned a second knife and sprung at the fusion.

Steven reached up and took Peridot's arm. "Hey, can you do that helicopter finger thing?"

"What? Yes." The Gem narrowed their eyes suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

I know where Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl are."

Peridot was about to ask their companion to elaborate, but a cry of pain made them turn. Aventurine had been knocked to the ground again; they rose up and continued the battle, but they couldn't keep this up forever.

The green Gem raised both limb enhancers to the sky and activated the helicopter mode. Steven jumped up and grabbed hold of a leg, holding on tightly.

The two spinning fingers were enough to get them well in the air. Steven pointed out to the ocean.

"Aventurine caught me before I fell in the ocean," Steven started to explain. "But I think I was too heavy so she slipped and fell. When I was underwater, I heard Sapphire singing!"

Peridot frowned. "Sapphire... that name is familiar."

"She's part of Garnet. Her and Ruby must have been split up when Malachite got them."

"Ah, so that was the Sapphire Gem singing on the ship." They nodded. "How far out did you hear them?"

"I'm not sure..."Steven frowned. "Maybe you could lower me down here and I could listen for her?"

So Peridot lowered themselves down to the water until their legs – and by extension Steven – were dipping in. After a second they felt the boy tap and they raised up.

"Did you hear the Sapphire?" They asked, and Steven gave a thumbs up.

"Let's go, Dot! Lower us down!"

"Wait..." Peridot frowned. "Isn't the ocean rather incompatible to you humans? It has no air, and the pressure would crush you."

Steven's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah. I didn't think this through."

"Nyeh..." The green Gem grumbled. They deactivated the helicopter on one of their hands and placed Steven in the water. "You know how to swim, so... just stay there. If I'm not back in ten minutes you'll have died of hypothermia or drowned, so you won't care."

"Aww... Can I have a lifejacket?"

"No." With that, Peridot deactivated their other helicopter fingers and entered the ocean, sinking fast like... well, like a stone. The sound of Sapphire's singing started softly but grew louder the farther they plummeted.

Yes, they had definitely heard this song and this voice before.

Another second later, they landed on the ocean floor. Switching on their gemstone light, they looked around.

They were again surrounded by a field of bones. They allowed themselves a moment to shiver at the sight, and then listened for Sapphire.

The song was coming from the right. They turned and began walking in that direction, and it wasn't long until they happened upon a blue Gem in a dress, their hands and feet chained to the ocean floor.

The Gem turned in Peridot's direction. "You? I knew somebody would come to rescue us, but I never expected..."

The green Gem frowned and tried to say something, but all that came out was a gurgle in the ocean. Sapphire sniffed.

"Hmm. We can discuss this later. For now I would appreciate being free of these chains."

With a blast from Peridot's limb enhancers, the entire watery chain seemed to dissolve. The blue Gem rubbed their wrists.

"Thank you, Peridot. Now we must free the others. Follow me; we will come back here to get Steven."

Sapphire took the green Gem's hand and all of a sudden they were flying across the ocean floor, with Peridot barely managing to keep their feet on the ground. Then Sapphire stopped on a dime, leaving them disoriented as they stood in front of a red Gem.

"Ruby!"

This other Gem did not appear to be able to speak underwater, but it was easy to read 'Sapphire!' from their lips.

"Don't worry, Ruby. We're getting you out of here."

Then they looked to Peridot, and the death stare they gave made the green Gem a little apprehensive to release them. Still, they diligently took aim and destroyed the chain.

Immediately Ruby and Sapphire rushed to hug each other. Peridot watched somewhat awkwardly as the two began kissing, and then swinging each other around, and then they fused and there stood Garnet, who was still laughing a little bit from the joy of being together again.

All three of their eyes looked to the green Gem, and they smiled. "Good afternoon, Peridot."

Peridot grinned back, but then they remembered what they had come for. Somewhat urgently, they pointed out at the ocean.

"Alright, I get it. We've got to free Pearl and Amethyst now." Garnet summoned their visor, and then picked up Peridot with one hand. They then pushed off the ocean floor, almost flying as they traversed such a long distance with one leap. The green Gem would have been screaming loudly at this point, if not for the water.

With a thump, they landed in front of Pearl and Amethyst. The two had been chained facing each other, and as soon as they saw Garnet their tired faces lit up.

Garnet dropped Peridot, and went over to the chains binding their friends. They grabbed them both and ripped them away, freeing the two Gems simultaneously.

Pearl and Amethyst rushed to hug Garnet, who merely looked over to Peridot and beckoned. "You too, Peridot."

This provoked an explosive reaction from the other two Gems, who drew their weapons and moved in to engage.

Garnet grabbed their hands. "This isn't the time, Crystal Gems. Peridot freed us, and we have bigger problems to worry about." They touched their visor. "Crystal Gems, go directly to the Galaxy Warp. Peridot will get Steven and meet you there."

And they jumped off. Peridot activated their helicopter fingers once more and popped up on the surface, where they saw Steven lying in the water.

"How'd it g-g-go?" They shivered, and slowly swam over to grab Peridot's leg.

"The Gems are back." Peridot answered, rising out of the ocean. "Garnet told us to meet her at-"

That was when Steven slipped and fell into the water.

" _Steven_!" Peridot cried, and immediately dived back in and recovered the shivering boy. They held Steven with one hand whilst only just managing to hover above the water with the other.

"Whoops." The boy grinned with blue lips. "I-I slipped."

The green Gem hugged them a little tighter to their chest. "You're freezing, Steven. Humans are even more fragile than I assumed."

"I-It's okay! I've been really c-c-cold before."

"When?"

"I-I went outside the G-Galaxy Warp and..." They trailed off.

"And?"

Steven frowned. "N-n-no, it wasn't the Galaxy Warp. It was... the stream... what was I saying?"

Peridot's eyebrows drooped, and they focused silently on the Galaxy Warp that was approaching. When they neared the Galaxy Warp, they could see three Gems engaged in combat; Malachite, Aventurine and this massive blue-haired being with six arms. Suffice to say, it was not going well for Malachite.

"Argh! I won't give up!" They were shouting as Peridot laid a shivering Steven on the side. "I'll never be your prisoner again, Crystal Gems!"

Malachite hurled waves at the blue-haired fusion, but their massive size made it difficult to knock them over. They summoned giant gloves with their lowest set of hands and punched through them.

"Hey." Peridot looked up to see Aventurine standing in front of them, dual daggers in hand. They were smiling but that dropped as soon as they saw Steven. "Is Steven okay? He looks one step off from a snowman."

"I don't know." The green Gem shrugged helplessly. "Humans get over cold easily, don't they?"

"Not hypothermia, they can't!" Aventurine kneeled down and picked up Steven. "Don't worry. I learned how to treat humans back in the war for Earth."

"That was thousands of years ago."

Aventurine froze. "...Oh, yeah. Heh, it doesn't feel like that long but I guess I wasn't really keeping count, eh?"

Behind them, Malachite was forced to the ground, only a thin shield of water protecting them.

"Anyway," Aventurine cleared their throat, and took off the cloak they had been wearing. "It can't be that different to what I learned."

Peridot stared as the Gem wrapped their cloak around Steven and hugged the boy close. There was a cry of anger as Malachite's shield finally broke, and they were poofed.

"Why are you staring at me?" Aventurine's words made Peridot jump.

"N-nothing! Eh..." They looked their companion up and down. "It's just... strange."

Before they could say anything more, Pearl came charging into the two with their spear in hand.

"Alright, you two! What have you done with-"

They noticed Steven wrapped up in the cloak.

"-Steven...?"

"Yo, your face Pearl!" Amethyst came cackling into the scene. "That's priceless... eh, who are you, anyway?"

"Aventurine." The Gem answered with a grin. "You guys are the Crystal Gems, right? Where's Rose?"

That was when Garnet appeared, placing their two hands on Amethyst and Aventurine's hair. "We, have a lot to discuss."

 **EDIT 28/3/16 - Changed 'Adventurine' to 'Aventurine'. Thanks to CarnelianWing for pointing out this spelling mistake!**


	15. The Discussion

**And here concludes the main plot I had in mind for Miscommunication. But with so much still to happen... suffice to say I didn't think ending it here was a good idea.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Okay!" Greg looked around their office one final time. "I gotta admit, Pearl, I haven't seen this place so clean in ages!"

The Gem responsible smiled widely. "Yes, well, I didn't want your things cluttering up everywhere when we're trying to have a serious conversation."

"Fair enough... you guys don't want the TV or anything?"

"Thanks Dad, but I don't think the Gems want it on." Steven answered as they sat on the desk, a warm blanket wrapped around them.

"Then it seems we're settled! I'll just, get out of your way."

Once they closed the door, Pearl let out a sigh of relief. Then they stood up and looked around the room. "Okay! So we have Garnet, Amethyst, Steven, Peridot... where's Aventurine?"

"Over here!" A hand raised up from behind the desk. "It's actually kind of comfortable on the floor. All I need is some chaaaaaps and I could stay here all day."

Amethyst jumped down next to them. "Or, you could sleep!"

"What's that?"

Garnet peeled themselves off the wall, walked over and grabbed the pair. "We can sleep later. For now, you two have to be awake."

They placed Aventurine and Amethyst on either side of Steven. Aventurine leaned on their human friend, their one green eye looking bored but attentive.

Peridot stood up on their seat next to the desk, so as to gain a little height. Until they could find the missing leg part of their limb enhancers, with much convincing they had decided to go without. "Now Crystal Gems, I need to know what the status on the Cluster is."

"Greg told us the drill is fine." Pearl clasped their hands together. "We were just finishing up the test runs when Malachite attacked us. We found some problems, but it's nothing you and I can fix up in a couple of days."

"We won't need the drill."

"Yes, yes, that's- wait, whaaaat?"

Amethyst and Garnet glanced at each other.

Peridot began grinning. "We can contact Yellow Diamond instead. Once she hears of how worthy this planet is-"

"No!" Pearl snapped. "Yellow Diamond would never lift a finger to help Earth. Besides, even if she did we wouldn't accept it; it's what Rose would have done."

"Plus, uh, we destroyed your Diamond phone thing. I smashed it myself, remember?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Amethyst." Aventurine smirked. "We built another one."

"Dude, seriously? Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"And, Steven made a deal with me." Peridot grinned at Garnet. "So you don't have a choice! Nyahahaha!"

Steven shrank down a little in their seat as Pearl and Amethyst glared at them. Pearl then looked to Garnet.

"We can't follow through with this, Garnet! It's too dangerous; we should just destroy this communicator and finish working on the drill!"

"Hmmm..." Garnet adjusted their visor. "I say... we let Peridot contact Yellow Diamond."

"What?" Pearl and Peridot blinked in surprise.

"You heard me. Maybe... Yellow Diamond will do something helpful for Peridot." Then they looked directly at the green Gem. "But don't mention the Crystal Gems. Not one word."

"I won't."

"But... but..." Pearl stuttered. Then they took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine! If you're fine with putting our lives in the hands of a Diamond-loyal Gem, then I guess I'm fine too!"

Peridot sat down, smugly crossing their arms and giving the thumbs up to a rather uncomfortable Steven.

"Now that that's settled... Aventurine?"

The mentioned Gem sat up. "Yeah?"

"We have some questions for you." Garnet crossed their arms.

"Fair enough. So-"

Amethyst leaned forward. "Yeah, and if you get them wrong we're gonna bury you!"

"Amethyst!"

"It's alright." Aventurine flashed a grin at Amethyst before clearing their throat. "So, whaddaya wanna know? I was a scout for the Crystal Gems back during the Civil War... but I got captured. And then I went madder than the Diamonds, hehe."

Peridot shot a furious look at their friend. "What did you say about the Diamonds?"

"So, is this all that's left of the Crystal Gems?" Aventurine looked around. "Once it was big enough that a Gem like me never even saw Rose except for special occasions. Now I'm sitting next to them, eh?"

They playfully shoved Steven, who began laughing. "Hey!" Then they looked back at the cloaked Gem. "It's not all bad, though; I can fit all of you guys in a- wait, this means I need to redo the Crystal Gem song, and add Aventurine and... maybe Peridot?"

The small green Gem hissed. "You Crystal clod! I would never commit such treason to my Yellow Diamond!"

Pearl frowned. "Now, now Steven. We have more important things to worry about right now. Besides, I don't know if Aventurine or Peridot want to be-"

"Included in a Crystal Gem song? Sign me up, Steven!" Aventurine's eye fell on Pearl, and their voice softened. "If that's alright with you, pearl."

"P's fine." Amethyst waved their arm dismissively. "She's put up with me this long."

"Nah, I respect pearls."

"Well, that's more than one can say for _some_ Gems!" Pearl placed their hands on their hips. "Amethyst?"

"Whatever, you two."

Garnet walked over to the door. "Alright. Peridot will make her call to Yellow Diamond in here. Amethyst, stay and listen in. Me and Pearl will go with Greg to check on the drill. Aventurine and Steven- where's Aventurine?"

Everybody looked around, but only the light flapping of the window shutter gave any indication that the Gem had even existed.

"Steven, you can stay with Amethyst." Garnet decided. "I'll go looking for Aventurine."


	16. Traitor to my Homeworld

"Believe in..." Steven took a deep breath. "Garnet Amethyst Pearl Peridot Aventurine... and Steven!"

Peridot let out a short groan as the three sat on the roof of the barn. They were curled up in a foetal position just in front of Steven and Aventurine.

"You're right, Peridot." The boy strummed their ukulele. "I probably have to change the melody rather than the lyrics."

"I'm a traitor to my Homeworld."

Aventurine patted the green Gem's arm, dipping their hand into a large bag of Chaaaaaps. "Cheer up, pieslice. Look how happy Steven is, and he's the one who has to completely change his rad song just to fit us in!"

Steven blushed. "Thanks, Aventurine... A-vent-ur-ine, that's four syllables. Hey, do you think I could call you a nickname in the song?"

"Oh, no you don't." Aventurine shook their head. "Sorry pal, but nothing good ever comes out of humans shortening my name."

"I'm a Crystal Gem." Peridot moaned, breaking the conversation.

The boy leaned forwards. "I heard you calling Yellow Diamond a clod, right to her face! That was really cool!"

"You two don't understand anything..."

Aventurine balled up the plastic bag and placed it inside their cloak. "Eh, I know more than you think. Here,"

Something landed on Peridot's face. They took a break from lounging in the depths of utter despair to examine it.

"This is my audio log." The green Gem sat up, frowning. "Where did you find this?"

"In the Temple."

Steven cut in. "Aventurine, that's really dangerous! Garnet said the Temple needed several weeks to repair after all the damage Malachite did."

"Chill, pal!" The cloaked Gem grinned and patted Steven's head. "I always know what I'm doing. And hey, Amethyst!"

This last addition caused Peridot and Steven to turn their heads, where they saw the Gem in question perched on the roof, fluttering their wings.

"What's up, guys?" Amethyst shapeshifted back into their regular form. "Uh, Pearl wants to know if Peri's finished freaking out about Yellow Diamond. She needs you to help with the drill- oh, and Steven can help gather stuff with me n'Garnet."

Steven frowned. "What about- hey, where's Aventurine?"

"I dunno. All the more reason for you to come with us; we're getting tungsten!" The purple Gem helped Steven to their feet. "And what about you, Peri?"

Peridot looked down at their audio log. "Just... give me a moment."

"Alright dude, but I think if you stay up here much longer P's gonna come up and drag you down. She's really missed working with you... but don't tell her I said that."

The green Gem waited until the two had gone. Then they stood up, walked towards a hole in the roof and jumped down into it. This upper floor was currently the Gem's home in place of the Temple, and except for Peridot's communication device (which they had so far refused to throw away) a caterpillar sleeping bag, a lamp and a TV laid out for Steven, it was notably empty in comparison to the rest of the barn.

It was there that Peridot brought up the audio log, looking around suspiciously in case some nosy Gem was lurking in the shadows. Seeing nobody there, they pressed the record button.

It made a strange whirring noise, and the red light that flashed when it was recording did not appear.

Peridot frowned, shook it a little and tried again. There was still nothing, so they rewinded to check if it was truly broken.

"Heyyy, pieslice!" There was a click as the recording ended.

This made them jump. It took a few seconds of searching for Aventurine before they realised the sound came from the audio log.

Had Aventurine... been using their log? They rewound it a bit more.

"Hey!" Click. "Steven, hi!" Click. "BP, how're you doing?" Click. "Steven! Hey!" Click.

After a couple more rewinds, it was apparent Aventurine had filled the audio log with slight variations of greetings to Peridot, Steven and this BP.

It was a strange prank, the green Gem thought as they began erasing all the messages, but no stranger than Amethyst's. Then they pressed the record button, and it began working normally.

"Ahem. Log date 8 12 9. Oh my stars, I can't believe I just did that!" They stared out of the window. "I called Yellow Diamond a clod, right to her face! But, she was being extremely unreasonable about Earth... but she is Yellow Diamond! Maybe she had had reasons for doing so? But she refused to listen to me, and now I'm stuck here – a Crystal Gem! - working on a drill to defeat the Cluster. And-"

"Peridot!" It sounded like Pearl was downstairs. "Are you sure you don't want to work on the drill? It'll make you feel better, I promise!"

"Peridot Facet 5, end log." Peridot put the log net to their communicator, let out deep sigh and began climbing down the ladder. "Fiiiine. I suppose it would at least distract me from- Nghyaaaaaa!"

This strangled-cat noise was produced by the green Gem slipping on a rung, falling almost the entire height of the barn and faceplanting on the ground with a cracking sound.

" _Peridot_!"

Pearl ran over to the green Gem and helped them up. "Peridot! Are you okay?"

Peridot frowned and opened their mouth, but for some strange reason no words came out.

"Your Gem..." Pearl breathed, their eyes wide with fear. "Ohhhh... okay! This is fine, we just have to find Steven... who is out with Garnet and Amethyst. Well, wait here! No no, come with me!"

They grabbed Peridot by the scruff of their neck, dragging them over to a chair by the blackboard outside. Then they began poking and prodding at the green Gem's face, much to their displeasure.

"Stay still, Peridot! Oh... Oh no... Oh, stay calm! Don't worry!" Pearl backed off, trying for a reassuring smile. "Steven will be back soon. You'll be fine! In the meantime just... stay there and don't panic!"

The green Gem wanted to point out they should take their own advice, but as they couldn't speak they settled with a pouting glare.

"Great! So, you can stay there and rest while I go work on the drill right here." The pale Gem picked up a wrench, seeming to calm down just that little bit. "Okay. This is good, if you just stay there... what can go wrong?"

A loud roar of pain sounded from behind the drill, and Lion skidded to a halt in front of them. A second later a blue corrupt Gem stomped onto the scene.

Peridot recognised that Gem. It was the one that had attacked them and Aventurine back at Steven's house.

Meanwhile, Pearl drew a spear from their gemstone. "I don't know how you got out, but you're going back where we put you!" They leapt up onto the drill and threw their weapon right into its eye. The Gem monster growled and stumbled back before taking a deep breath and roaring right back, depositing a thick coating of ice both on the drill and the grass in front of it.

The fight was on. Peridot got up and peeked around the side of the drill to see what was happening.

The blue monster raised a hand and smashed it into the ground where Pearl was standing, but they darted to the side and shot a charge at the arm. The resulting explosion took their arm right off, and the corrupt Gem turned to face them, breathing hard.

Pearl aimed their spear right into its mouth for a killing blow, but before they could do anything the monster roared. This time, its breath completely froze the pale Gem in a messy clump of ice. Then it raised its fist and prepared to strike.

Peridot began to panic. They ducked behind the drill, trembling all over in silent fear for their life. One day into being a Crystal Gem, and already they were going to be shattered by this monster.

There was a great bellow and a thud, causing the green Gem to flinch. Then they thought about all the ways they could've done something to help Pearl... but no. They hid here, and now-

"Hey, pearl!" Peridot's eyes opened at the voice. "I thought you needed an assist."

There was a poofing sound. "That was excellent timing, Aventurine! Thank you!"

"No problem."

"Peridot?" The green Gem jumped, before crawling out of their hiding space.

They saw Aventurine and Pearl standing together. Aventurine turned around to Peridot and began grinning widely.

"Wow, that's some crack. Did'ja get that fighting the monster?"

Peridot shook their head. Pearl sighed deeply.

"No. But, I suppose I did tell you to stay where you were."

There was an awkward silence. Then the pale Gem brightened up. "Well, what are we all waiting for? The three of us can help get the ice off this drill whilst we wait for Steven to come back!"

The green Gem got to their feet, but when they looked up again they saw Aventurine was gone.


	17. War Tales

Peridot was ecstatic to see Steven return; a couple hours without the ability to obnoxiously point out things Pearl had missed and moan about Yellow Diamond's rejection had rendered the Gem downcast and sullen.

They were less excited, however, about the method the boy used to heal their Gem. They were still shuddering about it later on, when it got too dark to easily work on the drill and they all sat around a campfire, telling stories, laughing and looking at the stars.

"-And then, I saw Amethyst and Garnet lifting a big thing of tungsten right out of the ocean!" Steven was saying. "It looked really heavy... maybe Lapis would've been able to help."

The purple Gem chuckled. "Don't worry about it, dude. That was nothing!"

"Don't worry, Steven." Garnet adjusted their visor, and then smiled gently. "We'll release Lapis once we've defeated the Cluster. But right now, we have two new Crystal Gems who need to get used to life on Earth."

"Yeah!" The boy leaned over and gave Peridot a crushing hug, causing them to start. "You two are gonna love it here!"

"Nyeh..." The green Gem tolerated the contact for a few seconds before shrugging their shoulders. "Now get your touch stumps off of me, Steven."

"Touch stumps?" Aventurine raised an eyebrow. "Is that what Homeworld calls 'em now? I remember them just being regular old fingers during the war."

Amethyst snorted. "What, did you hear them saying that a lot or something?"

"Probably more than most of you Gems." The cloaked Gem spoke in a softer tone, looking into the fire, and Amethyst quickly turned away.

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

"Aventurine?" Steven looked up. "Do you have any cool stories from the Gem war?"

"Steven!" Garnet growled. "So many Gems and humans were broken in the fight for Earth. Their stories are not something to be talked about around the campfire."

Aventurine shrugged. "Eh, fighting for the Crystal Gems wasn't so bad. It was everything that came after that was the bad part, heh."

"Hmmmm..."

"You wanna hear a story, Steven?" Aventurine leaned forwards, their cloak almost touching the campfire. Peridot raised their eyebrows, their interest piqued.

"Sure!"

"Wait, you two." Pearl glanced anxiously towards the cloaked Gem. "This isn't going to be anything... right?"

"Don't worry, pearl: I'll lie about all the stuff that's not Steven-friendly." They winked (well, they only had one eye but it _felt_ like a wink). "Now, what to tell, what to tell... Oh! This is a good one.

I told you I was a scout, right? Yeah, my team was tasked with scoping out this forest for any Homeworld attackers. It was relatively low risk and it was a big area, so we split up and went looking on our own. I dunno what the other guys did, but I found something... interesting."

"What was it?" Peridot demanded. "A human?"

"Nice guess but humans were just cannon-" Aventurine glanced at Pearl. "common foot soldiers in our army, mostly. No, what I found was an escape pod.

Pearl frowned. "An escape pod?"

"Yup. It was pretty big, with Blue Diamond markings and it'd taken down a good few trees when it crashed. I'd imagine it was from some higher-up Homeworld ship.

Aaanyway, I was a pretty young Gem back then, and I didn't have the sense to get the heck outta there. Instead I went exploring into it, which resulted in me quickly finding three stranded, desperate Homeworlders and getting the dirt beaten out of me. I think it was a Lapis, an Apatite and her Pearl."

"Lapis?" Steven asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that Lapis you guys were talking about; I don't know if they're the same person. I mean, they both tried to kill me, haha!

Anyway, they locked me in the escape pod for... oh, I don't know how long, but it was the dead of night when I heard the hatch being quietly turned. I looked up, and there was Pearl!

She started talking to me real fast about how she'd heard about the Crystal Gems on Earth and how much she'd like to get away from a life of servitude but oh my stars what was she doing disobeying Apetite... at least, that's what I got out of her later. I had to quickly cover her mouth up because Lapis and Apetite were sitting _right there_. It was a bit too late though, they already saw us."

The entire group was hanging on their every word. Aventurine grinned in the firelight. "So you wanna know what we did?"

"Yes!"

"Well, it wasn't actually that difficult. I wasn't being ambushed in that cramped little pod, so I ran rings around the little blue bloods. Pearl just kind of sat there, staring, but she helped me carry them back to base when I pinned the two to a tree. After that I didn't see her for a while – she was in combat training – but when she passed with honours the two of us got put in a team together, right up until... heh. Whad'ya think of the story, Steven?"

Steven's eyes were starry. "That was awesome! And you two got to be in a team together, like the Crystal Gems!"

"Well Steven, they weren't 'like' the Crystal Gems." Pearl pointed out. "They were actually in the Crystal Gems. And this sort of story illustrates just how well Rose organised us!"

Amethyst punched the cloaked Gem. "Nice one, dude."

Garnet gave a silent thumbs up.

"Thanks, guys. I like to have my talents recognised... and what about you, Peri?"

Peridot jumped. "Oh, me? That account was... very interesting. Was that the general method of recruitment?"

"Oh, no." Pearl clasped their hands. "We had other methods, though it seems via escape pod is much more common than I thought!"

"Nyeh?"

"Psst." Aventurine grinned. "They're talking about you, pieslice."

Peridot tried for a smile. "Wow. Thanks."

"Hey, Aventurine..." Steven broke the moment. "I think your cape is on fire."

Garnet reached over and covered Steven's ears.

Aventurine looked down in surprise, where they saw the dark garment had indeed started to catch. "Oh, jeez! Fire!"

This was then followed by a series of sugar honey iced teas and king elfers as the Gem struggled out of the burning garment and threw it in the fire.

"Aventurine!" Pearl covered their mouth, their cheeks going blue. Next to them Amethyst was cracking up.

"Whoops." Aventurine summoned another cloak, and wrapped it around themselves. "I guess I just hate fire, eh?"

"Man," Amethyst snorted. "And I thought I was the bad influence!"

Steven ran to the cloaked Gem and hugged them. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Steven." Aventurine looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. Isn't this your... sleeping time? Man, I've got to try that sometime when I have a couple hours to waste."


	18. pearl's Plan

"I told you Peridot, I don't know why the coolant keeps leaking!" Pearl sighed, rubbing the base of their nose. "I've been trying to fix this problem for too long; it's not essential, we just have to be much more careful when we go for the real drill."

The green Gem looked over the machinery, frowning thoughtfully.

"Peridot?"

"Ah, yes. I know what to do in this situation." They hopped off Amethyst's shoulders, and began to walk to the barn. "Just give me a moment to gather the supplies."

"But... what are you going to do?" Pearl called, before they felt a hand on their shoulder.

"Don't worry, P. I think she's got this."

"Ah, well, I guess it can't hurt to try one last time." Pearl looked over at the blackboard. "It would be helpful to have some margin of- Amethyst! What did I tell you about doodling on my calculations!"

"Whoops."

Meanwhile, Peridot had walked into the barn. There they stopped, hearing a vaguely familiar voice from the upper floor.

"Hello?" The green Gem called, and almost immediately there was a great crashing sound. "Garnet, is that you? What's going on up there?"

They quickly skipped up the new stairs that had been constructed, peeking out at the top floor.

The lamp next to Steven's bed had been upturned and broken, but other than that nothing had changed... and nobody was there.

Strange, Peridot thought. Not wanting to remain here any longer than necessary, they grabbed a roll of duct tape and left.

"There you are, Peridot." Pearl was standing alone near the drill. They appeared pleased but this dropped as soon as they noticed what was in Peridot's hand. "Wait, you want to use duct tape on the drill?"

"I constructed a working communicator to Homeworld using nothing but this, spare parts and gold." The green Gem waved the tape in front of Pearl. "So I firmly believe this will fix the coolant."

All of a sudden, a dark figure dropped down from the sky and landed on the drill. Aventurine grinned. "Coolant? What's that?"

Peridot's eyes widened. "Did you just-"

"Fly?" The cloaked Gem winked. "Who says I can't?"

"Gravity."

"You make a fair point. Anyway, what's coolant?"

The green Gem went over to the drill with the tape, so Pearl cleared their throat. "It's a fluid, used to prevent devices from overheating. We were going to forego it in this drill since it stubbornly refuses to work, but if Peridot can somehow manage to fix it, it could lengthen the amount of time this drill can work for before it overheats... though I highly doubt mere duct tape will ever work in such a complex design."

"I fixed it." There was a call from the drill. Pearl started.

"Y-you whaaat?"

"It stopped leaking. I fixed the coolant."

"Hmm... it seems to be working. I guess we'll just have to discover if it holds up in our next test drive."

Aventurine raised their singular eyebrow. "Another test drive? You guys checked off every problem on your little list. The Cluster isn't going to incubate forever, you know."

Pearl rolled their eyes. "We have to make sure this drill is completely fit for the mission before we start. If it breaks in the mantle, we run a high risk of being killed. Even if we somehow managed to get out, it would take too long to build another one. This is our only shot."

"Hey, you're the one building the drill. Your call... I'm just saying it'd be a shame to die for the sake of coolant." They paused and sat down, their legs dangling off the edge of the drill. "Which is another rad invention Homeworld never thought of. I mean, limb enhancers are fancy n'all but we missed out on stuff like coolant and the wheel?"

"Yes, yes, very interesting." Pearl crossed their arms, frowning at the drill. "Hmm... perhaps we could just get the Cluster over and done with. It shouldn't take too long for – Sugulite – to smash it into pieces, and if the coolant breaks then we'll just have to bubble the shards later. Yes, I think this could work! I think we could probably do it tomorrow, the day we scheduled the test drill!"

Peridot looked up. "Who'd be coming? We can't all fit."

"I think just Garnet, Amethyst and me. I can work the controls in the safety of the drill, the other two can use Garnet's heat resistance to survive while they're smashing the Cluster." Pearl thought out loud. "Steven would have to stay up here on his own, though..."

Aventurite jumped down to the ground, their cloak fluttering around them. "We can take care of Steven, right Peridot?"

"Nyeh..."

"Or more Steven taking care of us, hah! Anyway this sounds like a good plan, pearl. I'll relay it to Garnet."

Pearl looked up sharply. "Wait! I don't think-!"

But Aventurine was already gone. The pale Gem rolled their eyes.

"I suppose this is now the plan. It... could be worse."

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with it?"

"...Nothing I can see at the moment. I just wish I had a little more time to think about it properly." They let out a sigh, and then picked up a screwdriver. "Oh, well... I suppose it is for the best. Let's just give this drill its final touch ups, eh?"

Peridot grinned, and held up the duct tape.

"Preferably without the duct tape, Peridot."


	19. TOTALLY Serious Chapter

"So I don't get to see the Cluster?" Steven looked up at Garnet, who placed a hand on their hair.

"Don't worry, Steven. It won't look very interesting."

"Yes." Peridot clasped their hands together. "If the diagrams I've seen are correct, it should just be a greatly enlarged version of the forced fusion experiments."

Garnet frowned. "Which is why that abomination has to be destroyed." They began walking away towards the drill.

"Oh-okay... but Garnet! What'll the mantle look like?" The boy scampered up to the side of the drill. "Is it just rock? If it's just rock, can you get me one?"

The fusion gave a thumbs up from the top of the drill.

"Garnet, we can't promise that!" Pearl then looked over the edge, waving. "Goodbye, Steven! Make sure you stay around the barn, and keep an eye on Peridot and- where's Aventurine?"

"Alright! This is to, uh, not getting blown up by the Cluster!" Amethyst pressed a button and the hood of the drill came slamming down around them, narrowly missing Pearl. As Garnet steered them into the ground, one could perceive the other two Gems engaged in a heated argument.

And then they were gone.

"Peridot?" Steven asked after a moment.

"Yes, Steven?"

"Are they gonna be alright?"

The green Gem frowned. "Technically speaking, they have only a very small chance of survival. But they have survived much more dangerous situations before, so... I don't know."

"Oh, okay." The boy looked around. "Where is Aventurine anyway?"

"I don't- hey, what's that?"

"What?"

Peridot pointed. "That thing in the sky."

Steven squinted. "It looks like... Aventurine riding Cookie Cat down to Earth from space?"

"What?" The green Gem raised their eyebrows, but before they could do anything the object floated right down to their level.

It was indeed Aventurine, riding on Cookie Cat's spaceship. Cookie Cat had a distinct frown on their face.

"Cookie Cat, you're real?" Steven asked, wide-eyed. "How do you and Aventurine know each other?"

"I have no idea." Aventurine answered, and drew some sunglasses out of thin air. "But it's time to go... out of character. We're going to blow up the Earth!"

The boy blinked. "What? Why?"

"It's a much more efficient way of dealing with the Cluster, of course. Cookie, ready the laser cannon!"

"Cookie Cat! You too?"

Peridot looked from Steven to Aventurine. "I have no idea what is going on here."

"Wait!" Steven pleaded as the cannon charged. "What about Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl?"

"I don't care. It's all part of the Great Cookie Authority, Beach!"

" _What about our T rating_?!"

"I don't care!" Aventurine grinned. "Because, dear reader, this is all an April Fools joke."

Steven collapsed on the ground, letting out a big sigh of relief.

"Really?" Peridot crossed their arms. "This was rather extreme for a silly Earth celebration, don't you think?"

"Oh, it gets worse. I'm actually blowing the Earth up. Ahahaha-hahaha, haha!"

 _BOOOOOOM!_

"Well?" Pearl demanded as they and Garnet sat together in the barn. "What's the worst thing that could possibly go wrong tomorrow morning?"

Garnet adjusted their visor. "Don't worry, Pearl. The worst possible thing that could happen has nothing to do with the drill, and it is extremely unlikely."

"How unlikely?"

The fusion stood up. "Don't worry. I just need to tell Steven something."

"But, what did you see? Garnet? Garnet!"


	20. Where's Aventurine?

"So I don't get to see the Cluster?" Steven looked up at Garnet, who placed a hand on their hair and ruffled it.

"Don't worry, you won't be missing anything."

"Yes." Peridot clasped their hands together. "If the diagrams I've seen are correct, it should just be a greatly enlarged version of the forced fusion experiments."

Garnet nodded, and then began walking away towards the drill.

"Oh-okay... but Garnet! What'll the mantle look like?" The boy scampered up to the side of the drill. "Is it just rock? If it's just rock, can you get me one?"

The fusion gave a thumbs up from the top of the drill.

"Garnet, we can't promise that!" Pearl then looked over the edge, waving. "Goodbye, Steven! Make sure you stay around the barn, and keep an eye on Peridot and- where's Aventurine?"

Rather abruptly, Garnet grabbed the pale Gem's arm and pulled them down. Before they could protest, Amethyst spoke up.

"Alright! This is to, uh, not getting blown up by the Cluster!" The purple Gem pressed a button and the hood of the drill came slamming down around them. The head of the machine began to spin; Garnet tilted it forwards and steered it into the ground.

And then they were gone.

"Peridot?" Steven asked after a moment.

"Yes, Steven?"

"Are they gonna be alright?"

The green Gem frowned. "Technically speaking, they have only a very small chance of survival. But they have survived much more dangerous situations before, so... I don't know."

"Oh, okay." The boy looked around. "Garnet told me to look out for Aventurine."

Peridot raised a sceptical eyebrow. "That is... a difficult task. I highly doubt we will find that Gem unless she wants to be found."

They stopped and thought for a moment. Then a smile began to creep up their lips. "Well, maybe the two of us can't catch her..."

"What are you implying?"

"But I know who can: Lion!"

The large pink animal lying a little ways away flicked their ears, but otherwise remained completely still.

"You want to ride that thing again? Peridot cautiously followed Steven as the two approached Lion. "Why?"

"Lion knows where to find Aventurine." Steven kneeled down and buried their face in Lion's soft mane. "Don't you?"

There was no response.

"Come on, Lion! We'll give you lots of, uh, Lionlickers. And naps... though you're taking a nap right now so-"

The green Gem crossed their arms. "Pfft, this dumb animal could never find Aventurine. Maybe if we-"

Lion's eyes snapped open at their words, and they hauled themselves to their feet. Then they gave a great roar that ripped a portal through the fabric of reality, and looked back at the green Gem with bared teeth.

"I mean, uh, nice... animal?" They looked at Steven's face. "You want me to ride it? Nyeh... just as long as you don't stick me in its mane again."

"Yeah!" Steven grabbed Peridot's hand, and enthusiastically dragged them up to Lion. After helping their companion reluctantly get seated on the pink animal's shoulders, they hopped on behind.

Lion waited patiently until this was done, and then they started forwards, charging into the portal at such a speed Peridot grabbed onto their mane and Steven wrapped their arms around Peridot's waist, their legs flying behind them in the wind.

Inside the portal was a confusing mess of pink and white, and then suddenly they passed back into reality, landing in a dim, water-logged area. Only a strange warm light that emanated from tubes around the walls provided any sort of vision.

Peridot blinked and shook themselves, trying to recover from the experience. Then they looked down at Steven's arms.

"Ahem."

Steven removed their arms around the green Gem's waist.

"Thank you, Steven." They then switched on their Gem light. "What is this place? It looks... familiar."

Steven looked down. "Lion, is this where Aventurine is?"

Lion groaned, and laid down with a puff. They didn't seem to mind about the water.

"Lion?"

Peridot looked over at the boy. "What's the matter with this lion?"

"I think he's just tired." They slid off Lion's back and landed with a splash. "But he looks relaxed, so this can't be so-"

There was a series of plunks in the water, as if a collection of somethings had fallen down to the ground. Peridot snapped around to look at the disturbance, but all they saw were ripples.

"Wait a minute," Steven motioned for the green Gem to look up, and the vast array of bubbled Gems left no room for doubt. "Peridot, we're in the Burning Room!"

Of course, Peridot thought as they slid off Lion with a splash. This was the room they reformed in.

"Peridot, what are you doing?" The boy started pushing Lion. "We gotta get out of here!"

"What's wrong?"

"Garnet told me the Temple was reforming." Steven tried lifting Lion's head, to no avail. "Come... on... Lion!"

Lion puffed and turned their head away. Behind them was an almost inaudible swooshing sound.

"What's so bad about that?" The green Gem raised an eyebrow.

"I... uh, I don't know. I never asked any follow up questions!"

"Nyah!" Peridot threw their hands in the air and began walking away. "This is great, just great."

"Where are you going?"

"To investigate, you clod!" They waded their way across the room. "I saw something drop over here."

They arrived at the spot, but upon examination the objects they had seen fall were nowhere to be found.

"Did you find anything?" Steven called, and the green Gem answered in the negative. "Oh. Lion's still not moving, maybe we should take-"

A small scuffing noise sounded from the dark ceiling of the Burning Room. Peridot looked up, and perceived the faintest bit of shadow slip away from their light. Their eyes widened.

"Steven, we're not alone. We need to get out of here!"

"What about Lion?" The boy frowned. "Maybe it's just Aventurine. Aventurine!"

The call echoed in the darkness, but there was no answer.

"I don't think that's Aventurine." Peridot looked towards the front, where the ledge and the entrance was located. "We can leave your lion here."

Steven frowned. "But-"

Before they could argue much further, a clinking sound interrupted from the back of the room. Peridot trained their gemstone light onto it, revealing a twisted forced-fusion gemstone half-submerged in the thin layer of water.

Lion sat up. After a moment of stunned silence, a bright light streamed out of the Gem, lifting it up off the ground.

"Ohhhh nooo..." Steven backed into Lion's soft fur.

A series of screaming faces bubbled out of the light as it stretched out. Then it splintered into a giant hand-like shape, which then mutated further hands and feet on the tips of its fingers.

And then the light faded, and the room shook as the monster crashed into the ground. It struggled up with difficulty before slowly, painfully crawling towards Steven, wailing and grunting.

"Oh my stars." Peridot stood frozen, unable to tear their eyes away from the monstrosity. Steven hopped on Lion, who stood up and began to run towards the green Gem.

The boy reached out and pulled Peridot onto Lion's back, and they screamed and latched onto Steven's waist for dear life as the animal leapt up onto the platform and charged out of the Temple. Lion didn't slow until they were in the standing in the middle of the beach, nice and safe from whatever was going on in the Burning Room.

Peridot was still trembling. "Oh, my stars. What was that?"

"It was one of the fusion-"

"No, not that!" They snapped. "The thing on the ceiling."

"I don't know. We need to tell the Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl once they get back." The boy scratched their head. "And we still don't know where Aventurine is."

The green Gem looked down, and gingerly removed their hands from Steven's waist. "I don't care about that anymore. Let's just get out of here before that thing comes after us!"


	21. Return

Lion either could not or would not make a portal back to the barn, so instead they ran back towards the barn, Steven and Peridot on their back. It took about half an hour, and for a while they just sat together next to Lion, looking around nervously and waiting for Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl to return.

"Boo!" A dark figure popped up in front of them, and the two screamed and clutched each other. Aventurine began chuckling.

"What's the matter? You two look like you've seen a ghost, and act like it too!"

Steven stood up and ran to their cloaked friend. "We did! We were following you, we ran into the temple and there was this thing-"

"Shh-shh." The cloaked Gem pressed a finger to Steven's mouth. Then they bent down to their level, holding the boy's shoulders. "I think I spotted your problem. You followed me, pal."

"Huh?"

Aventurine gripped a little tighter on Steven's shoulders. "Let me bring this down to your level: Don't. Follow. Me."

The boy recoiled.

Peridot sat up. "You were the lifeform attacking us on the roof!"

At this Steven gasped. They looked worriedly at the cloaked Gem. "I-Is that true?"

"Haha, no!" Aventurine laughed and stood back up. "Don't worry about it, Steven, I'd never hurt you two. I just said not to follow me, capiche?"

"Oh, okay. Sorry." Steven paused. "So where did you go?"

The Gem walked over and sat next to Peridot, leaning on Lion. "The strawberry battlefield, I think you guys call it now. I found... let me see..." They dug in their cloak, brought out some plastic gloves, put the gloves on and drew out a small white shard. "There it is. Piece of the preliminary Corruption Bombs- Steven, don't touch it! Whaddya think I put gloves on for, ya clod?"

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "What is the Corruption Bomb?"

"Corruption Bombs. Plural. Homeworld didn't tell you this little piece of atrocity, did they?" The cloaked Gem winked.

"What is it?" Peridot asked again. They stared incredulously at the piece. "It doesn't look like much."

Aventurine held the piece up. "Oh, he's only a little piece of a larger whole, pieslice. I was captured after the first few test drops, so I had the lucky opportunity of having the newer models tested-" They stopped.

"Tested on what?" Steven looked up.

"Pearl told me only to tell Steven friendly stories." Aventurine replaced the shard back in their cloak.

"Aww, man! Please?"

Aventurine ruffled the boy's hair, and then jumped to their feet. "Sorry Steven. I respect pearls."

Peridot crossed their arms. "This is new information about Homeworld. I demand you share it with me!"

"Maybe later, pieslice. For now, you have your drill driving back up to the surface."

Steven blinked. "Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl are coming back? How do you know?"

The Gem backed away, their dark cloak swishing on the ground. "Can't you feel the vibrations? No? Ah, maybe you will in a minute. Anyway, bye!" Then they leaped, launching themselves incredibly high and landing gracefully on the window of the barn and disappearing inside.

"Nyeh." Peridot grumbled. "I dislike it when they do that."

But nobody was listening. Steven was lying on the ground, their ear pressed to the grass. The green Gem raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"I-I think I can hear them!" The boy exclaimed. "There's this rumbling sound, and-"

Peridot sat up, feeling the ground shake a little under them. Quickly, they glanced over to where the drill had entered the Earth.

After a few seconds, the drill burst out of the earth, steaming and roaring. The violently spinning front began to slow, and the top opened up.

"Garnet!" Steven began to run to them, Peridot following more slowly behind. "Amethyst! Pea-"

" _Steven_!" Pearl held out their hands, urgently signalling them to stop. "Don't touch the drill: you'll burn yourself!"

The boy came to an abrupt halt, and the three Gems jumped down in front of them. Steven wrapped themselves around Garnet's leg.

"Ah man, I missed you guys so much!"

Garnet adjusted their visor. "We were only gone for a day."

"It didn't feel like a day!"

"So," Peridot crossed their arms. "How did the mission go?"

"Well, Amethyst and Garnet-"

"Yo, we smashed _up_ that Cluster!" Amethyst interrupted. "That thing isn't destroying nothing anymore!"

Pearl frowned. "Yes, well, we may have 'smashed up' the Cluster, but the coolant broke by the time we got down there. We had to leave some shards behind."

Steven looked up. "What does that mean, Pearl?" Almost immediately a large hand reached down and ruffled their hair.

"Don't worry about it, Steven." Garnet smiled. "The Earth is safe. It just means we have to make a few trips back to save those Gem shards." They paused. "And where is Aventurine?"

"She... was here earlier." The boy detached themselves from Garnet.

"Hmmm..."

Pearl clasped their hands together. "Well. We did it! We defeated the Cluster!"

There was a pause.

"Now what?" Amethyst looked around. At this, Steven's eyes went starry.

"We should do a slumber party!"

Pearl and Amethyst groaned.

"No, wait! We could do it better than last time. We can sleep out by the stars, Aventurine-" They motioned to the cloaked figure that had just appeared next to them. "-can tell cool stories, and I won't have any weird dreams since Malachite got poofed! It'll be the best slumber party ever!"

Peridot frowned. "What is... slumber party?"

"My thoughts exactly, pieslice."

Steven turned. "Oh, you guys haven't had one yet? This is even better!" They grabbed the two Gems by the hands and began dragging them over to the barn. "Come on! We gotta start setting up now!"

With a sigh, Pearl looked up to Garnet. "Do we have to participate in Steven's... er... human activity? Because I have to fix the coolant, and-"

"Pearl, you're going to Steven's slumber party." The fusion crossed their arms, smiling a little. "Don't worry, it won't be anything like the last one."


	22. Slumber Party

Calling to ask if Connie could come to the slumber party was a bad idea. Dr Maheswaran was still not quite over the whole Malachite situation, and yelled at Steven for ages on the phone before Garnet came and crushed it in their hands.

So the seven Gems continued setting up until nightfall for the slumber party. They brought out sleeping bags, Chaaaaaps and this slightly heavy box that Steven insisted nobody look at. While doing this, Peridot discovered that their communication device had gone missing but decided to hold off until morning searching for it.

And then it was ready. The green Gem sat on their sleeping bag, frowning suspiciously at Steven.

"Everybody!" Steven stood up. "I'd like to welcome you to the best slumber party ever!"

Pearl lifted up their sleeping bag. "Steven, I think this is too short for me."

"We'll start by handing out gifts!" The boy opened the box and drew out a variety of bits and bobs. Peridot watched suspiciously as they handed one each to Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Lion.

They draped a rather small pink blanket over Lion and then turned to Aventurine. "Look what I made you: It's a friendship bracelet!"

"A friendship bracelet." The Gem stared at the ring of string with various little trinkets looped in it. "I mean I'm chuffed buddy, but where's the catch?"

"Oh, I didn't make it with one. You just slip in on your wrist, like..." Steven gently pushed the bracelet onto the Gem's dark green arm. "Like that, see? It's for showing friends how much you care! Do you like it?"

Aventurine blinked, staring at the bracelet with an unreadable expression. "...Yeah. No catch."

"And for you, Peridot," Steven dumped a massive block of wood at the small Gem's feet.

Peridot frowned. "You brought me a piece of tree? What use is that, or how does it make me 'feel good'? And why are there two P's scratched into the top?"

"It's a replacement for your limb enhancer leg until we find the other one! And I know you're still angry about the ending of Camp Pining Hearts, so I carved-"

" _You carved Percy and Pauline's initials into your gift to me_?!"

"Actually-"

"Nyargh, you don't understand!" The green Gem curled up into a ball, glaring furiously at the boy. "You clods are just mocking me!"

"But-"

"Hey," Aventurine reached out and touched Peridot on the arm. "Would it make you happy if we burned it?"

They nodded sullenly, and the cloaked Gem grinned up at Steven.

"See? Your gift will make them happy after all."

"But... you aren't supposed to burn it."

"Ah, nobody cares how stuff is supposed to be used." Aventurine shrugged. "You'll learn in life that different things make different people tick, and they'll always do the exact opposite of what you want them to do until you find that. So, maybe get pieslice some matchsticks next sleep party."

Garnet's lips straightened. "Hmmm..."

"Uh, okay!" Steven started to grin again. "That's okay, Peridot; we'll burn your leg later. Now what we need to do is... Listen to a story by Aventurine!"

They plonked themselves in front of the cloaked Gem, who raised their only eyebrow.

"Really? You want to hear another of my little tales?"

The other four Gems had leant forwards. Even Lion cracked open an eye and trained it on the Gem.

"I see... Alrighty then, let me just think of one... Oh, I got one:

So, picture me and BP, scouting the Northa Astroalian coast. There had been a pretty big Homeworld fortress placed there, with a Galaxy Warp set up n'all before we came in and shattered it. But some phony informants had told us CG's there was a weakness in the north defences, and we got sent to investigate, just in front of the invading fleet."

"Phony informants?" Pearl frowned.

"Yeah. Phony as hel- I mean heck. Because it turns out the whole thing was a trap. There were Homeworld hoverships with full cloaking capabilities practically lining the coast, and they didn't want us spoiling their ambush plans.

We, kinda had to surrender at that point. We had one little sloop with one single light cannon, and they had thousands of guns capable of mowing down an army. We got taken into one of the small-fry hoverships, which didn't have a name at the time but we later called her 'the Renegade'. It sounded cool."

Peridot raised an eyebrow "Why'd you name it?"

"Oh, you'll see. When we got on board, BP and I were immediately separated. She went down to the lower decks; I got a consultation with the captain Spinel. They ever so kindly requested that I deflect from the Crystal Gems, but a spit to the face convinced them that I was a little beyond help.

I still got a pretty nice cell though. They planned to keep us there until they defeated Rose's fleet, and then bring a whole bulk of war prisoners back to Homeworld in chains.

I had twenty-four hour watch from this Lapis Lazuli, who could immediately alert a blue quartz only a room away if I tried to escape. So, I decided to try a more subtle approach and gain this Lapis' trust until I could poof 'em and take the guards outside by surprise. Lapises... Lapisi? Whatever, Lapises are pretty easy to mess with like that, and this one was no different. In fact, I'd probably have escaped even if Pearl hadn't beat me to it."

"What did she do?"

"What did Pearl do, Steven? Well, for one they didn't expect a pearl to put up much of a fight, so apparently a single Lapis checking in every few hours was deemed enough. It... well, it wasn't enough; they summoned their spear and slashed the door down, then went looking for me. They found my area, took out the quartz and the Lapis no problem, then the two of us headed to the front of the ship.

Without all their fancy cannons, captain Spinel and their little crew were no match for us. We..." Aventurine glanced towards Pearl. "...threw all the poofed gemstones overboard, then we pirated the vessel outta there. We were long gone from firing range before Homeworld could even notice something was off. Those hoverships were fast!"

"So did you go back and alert the Crystal Gems?" Steven grinned.

"Well yeah, but somebody else had told them about the ambush first. They got venerated as a war hero... BP was pretty angry about that. At least they told us later what exactly Homeworld was creating in that fortress: giant Corruption Bo-"

"Well!" Pearl clasped their hands together. "That was a great story, Aventurine! But I think Steven's a little sleepy, why don't some of us just lie down and rest? I'll just be fixing the drill."

"Pearl!" Steven frowned.

"Sorry, Steven, but sleeping really doesn't do it for me." They stood up with a nervous smile. "Garnet, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Garnet stood up, and the two walked away into the night. Amethyst snuggled into their sleeping bag.

"Welp, I'm going to sleep. Night, guys!"

Peridot crossed their arms. "So, Steven. What is next on your slumber party list- not that I care or anything!"

Steven looked crestfallen. "Sleeping...but I don't understand. This slumber party turned out even worse than the last one!"

"Such is life." Aventurine shrugged.

"Did you like it, Aventurine?"

"Not- wait, you're really cut up about this, aren't you? I loved your slumber party, Steven. And so did Peridot, right?"

"I did not-" The small Gem received a painful kick in the shin."Nyeah! I mean... of course I did! This human activity was certainly... interesting."

"See?"

"You guys really enjoyed it?" The boy looked to have cheered up a little. Aventurine reclined back onto their sleeping bag.

"Of course, pal. Now why don't you do this sleeping activity you talk about all the- what are you doing?"

Steven was dragging their sleeping bag right in between Aventurine and Peridot. When they finished this task, they jumped onto their bed and snuggled in.

The cloaked Gem blinked.

"You know, this slumber party was actually pretty good, don't you think?" Steven started, but then Aventurine sat up suddenly.

"Don't you think, Aventurine?"

"Oh yeah sure, buddy." They heaved themselves to their feet, and continued talking without turning around. "Listen, I need you to do a favour for me. I'm going to go now, and you need to tell the rest of the Crystal Gems to meet by the drill... around one o'clock in the evening. It's nothing serious."

"Uh, okay..." The boy yawned, then rolled over to face them. "But what about-"

They were already gone. In the awkward silence that followed, one could only hear the sound of Amethyst snoring.


	23. Crystal Traitor

"So we still can't find your communication device, Peridot? I don't understand: we looked for it all day!" Pearl mused as the five Crystal Gems walked out of the barn towards the drill.

"I searched everywhere, but it appears to have gone missing." They started, and then urgently added: "I didn't do anything with it, I swear!"

Garnet crossed their arms. "We believe you, Peridot. I just can't believe we forgot about it!"

"We were working on the drill."

"That is no excuse, Steven. There is no telling what that communication device will do in the wrong hands."

All of a sudden a flash of dark dropped down from the sky, and Aventurine was standing up on the drill, looking down on the group. "Like my hands?"

Everybody froze in suprise.

"Heh, the look on you guys' faces." The cloaked Gem laughed. "You guys think I fell from the sky, or I flew or something ridiculous like that. Actually it's not a coincidence I show up everywhere at just the right time: I'm watching you guys from a distance for a little while until you say something that sounds cool to enter on. Then I just get out of my hiding spot – in this case the top of the barn – and you guys think it's magic. Haha! It's fun, because you think I'm flying but actually it's more akin to stalking."

There was another pause; none of the Gems really knew what to say to that. Aventurine drew their cloak a little tighter around their shoulders.

"Yes, I am aware that was creepy. It was meant to be. That little confession was to make you guys actually realise that something's up and now that I have your attention, I can continue unhindered."

They drew out a small contraption from their cloak. "Anybody recognise this, Peridot?"

"That's the communication device I built!"

"Precisely! And can anybody tell me why you think I have it, Steven?"

"Uhh... you wanted to keep it safe?"

"I appreciate your optimism, but no. I can see that Garnet has figured out exactly where I'm going with this, so I'm gonna run by this pretty quickly before you try and bash my face in. Basically, I contacted Blue Diamond and told them everything about you guys, and a scout force is arriving tomorrow to check the information is true."

Garnet's teeth clenched. They stabbed a finger at the cloaked Gem. "You betrayed us!"

"I did. Now this scout force-"

"Why should we listen to you?!" The fusion summoned their gloves. "You're on Homeworld's side!"

Pearl and Amethyst drew their weapons. Steven and Peridot stood to the side, glancing anxiously from Aventurine to the Crystal Gems.

Aventurine did not appear worried. "Okay, okay! I can understand your reaction. You were expecting a couple weeks to prepare for Homeworld's forces, and I kinda chopped that to bits. But it's a mistake to say I was ever working for Blue Diamond; she had some information I wanted and I had some information she wanted, so it's nothing personal. Now can I continue, or do you guys prefer to go in a fight blind?"

"We've beaten Homeworld Gems before, without your help!" Amethyst growled, cracking their whip.

"Amethyst, you emerged after the war, didn't you? Ah, so you probably have no idea why your buddies are going to suddenly put down their weapons and hang onto my every word when I say: 'Homeworld is bringing Corruption Bombs."

Garnet gasped. "What? But... Arghhh!" Their gloves dissipated, but they still clenched their fists. "We have no choice but to listen to you."

"What?" Amethyst frowned as Pearl too put away their spear. "What are you guys talking about? I know those things were bad, but she betrayed us!"

The cloaked Gem grinned. "Awesome. So this scout force, they aren't actually interested in fighting. They just want to see you guys, check that what I've said is true, before they take me on board to Homeworld. So in reality, you still have X amount of weeks to prepare for an actual battle as long as you show up and don't attack. Blue Diamond did tell me to tell you this information, but before I realised some stuff I didn't think coming clean was worth it. I like my gemstone in one piece, capiche?"

"So you were just going to lie and watch us get killed?" Pearl's eyes widened.

"Well not killed, but yeah. I was perfectly okay with watching all of you suffer a fate worse than death, but then I kind of realised I was not okay with some of you suffering a fate worse than death, and... yeah." Aventurine shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno, emotions and stuff are weird for me. And I don't need Sapphire vision or whatever to know I'm about to get my face bashed in, soo I'm gonna go now."

"Darn right you're gonna have your face smashed in!" Amethyst struck out and wrapped their whip around Aventurine. "I trusted you!"

The other two resummoned their weapons.

The cloaked Gem looked down. "Oh no, I'm trapped. Whatever am I going to do." They spat on the whip, causing it to melt and snap. Then they dodged Pearl's thrown spear and jumped off the back of the drill.

Garnet jumped up on the drill, their landing causing the roof to dent. "Come back here, you-"

Then they stopped, breathing hard. Pearl understood immediately what this meant.

"They disappeared, didn't they? We'll have to find them; they still have the communication device."

" _Argghhh_!" Garnet kneeled down and punched the top of the drill with all their might. The metal crumpled like tissue paper under their gauntlets.

"Garnet!" Pearl jumped up on the drill and grabbed one of the fusion's arms. "Why did you do that? We still need to recover the shards!"

"You still care about that, P?" Amethyst snarled. "We're dead. We're absolutely dead!"

"No need for such negativity..."

And the two descended into bickering, whilst Garnet just stood there. Peridot finally recovered their voice.

"Oh my stars... Steven, did you expect any of that to happen?"

There was no answer.

"Steven?" The green Gem looked up, and saw that Steven was trying to break up the argument between the other Gems. It didn't look like they were being very successful, judging by the rapidly raising voices.

Not in the mood to get wrapped up in the boiling storm of emotions, Peridot quietly slipped out behind the barn, where they let out a breath.

Aventurine had betrayed them. The constant disappearances, the voices in the barn, the incident at the Temple... it all made sense now! The only mystery was how they didn't figure out there was something wrong earlier.

So... that was it. The Gem they had spent so many weeks with – both as a centipeedle and as a humanoid – was a liar and a traitor. They were working with Homeworld. They were an enemy.

And that was all there was to it... right? A few weeks ago Peridot might have been able to accept this as an answer, but their mind went back to the time they had 'betrayed' the Crystal Gems, when in reality they had meant to help. As impossible as it may sound, maybe this was the case with Aventurine?

 _She had some information I wanted and I had some information she wanted, so it's nothing personal._

"But how am I supposed to know what that means?!" Peridot growled out loud. "Nyagh! If I could just talk to Aventurine about this, without the other Crystal clods interfering... but how would I find them?"

They frowned, looking around the environment. That was when something nudged their arm.

"What is-Nyah!" They jumped away from the pink Lion that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. "What do you want, you clod? I'm busy!"

Lion remained, staring deeply into the green Gem's eyes.

"Unless... you did lead us to the Burning Room when I told you to locate Aventurine. That thing on the roof that attacked us has a high chance of being the Gem I am looking for..." They cleared their throat. "Earthling! Lead me to Aventurine!"

The animal turned sideways and laid down, the pink blanket Steven gave them yesterday sitting like a saddle on their back. Peridot still had some difficulty climbing up onto Lion, but when they managed it the pink animal stood up and began to trot forwards, gently increasing their pace until they were galloping along the ground and shapes blurred into each other on either side of them. Then they ripped open a portal with a massive roar, and dove into it.


	24. Don't Follow Me

Peridot and Lion emerged from the portal to land in the Burning Room once again. The Gem frowned as they slid off Lion. The animal quickly bounded away.

"Aventurine?" They turned on their Gem light and directed it skyward. "Come out, I want to talk to you!"

"I'm not up there." A voice from directly behind Peridot made them squeak in fear, trip and fall into the water with a splash. Aventurine laughed.

"Whoa there, pieslice. Need a hand?"

The cloaked Gem extended their right arm, the one with the friendship bracelet. Peridot stared at it sceptically for a moment before getting to their feet on their own.

Aventurine withdrew. "I see. I broke your trust, and the only reason you're here is because you want answers. Though to be honest, I thought Steven would be the one trying to get my side of the story: he's a rose quartz, whilst you're a peridot."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peridot crossed their arms, squinting in the dim light so as to see their companion better. "You're not making any sense; just, tell me something useful!"

"Something useful." The cloaked Gem grinned mischievously.

"Not- Nyah, you know what I meant, you clod!" The green Gem stamped their foot. "Tell me or I'll... I'll go back and tell the Gems!"

"Oooh, scary. But whatever, I'll stop messing with you. You wanna know why I betrayed you guys?" They paused. "I'm looking for someone."

"Looking for somebody?"

"My old friend Pearl, to be exact. I haven't seen them since we got captured." They tilted their face up. "I've been through this entire room, but she isn't here. And if she isn't here, then she's somewhere on Homeworld, and I'm going to find her."

"But you're wrong!" Peridot interrupted. "Your pearl could be anywhere, and even if they were taken back to Homeworld they would have been shattered for their crimes!"

"If you're so sure about that, then why didn't you keep a closer eye on me?" Aventurine snapped, then continued in a lighter tone. "But whatever, I'm not unique. It's not like an aventurine like me would have done any different, eh? Anyway I'm going to go now, so-"

Peridot started forwards. "Wait! You haven't told me anything!"

"I told you plenty."

"But it doesn't make sense!" The green Gem reached out and grabbed Aventurine's left hand.

"Hey, let go." The cloaked Gem tugged, but Peridot had a strong grip. "Seriously, pieslice. Don't make me hurt you."

"But there has to be more than that!" They demanded. "That's so... selfish! That can't be it!"

There was a flash of light from underneath Aventurine's cloak, and Peridot caught sight of a blade. Almost immediately they let go and stumbled and fell into the water, and looked up.

The dim red light of the Burning Room revealed a dark, cloaked figure walking towards them. Peridot cowered in fear, their trembling arms raised in front of their face.

The figure stopped just in front of them, and for a moment nothing happened. Then the figure raised their knife above their head, and Peridot shut their eyes tightly.

Thump. The green Gem flinched when they heard the sound, but it was immediately apparent something was not right. They opened their eyes.

"I'm... fine?" They sat up, and they saw Aventurine was still standing there. Then they looked across and saw a knife embedded in one of the red tubes lining the Burning Room. "You didn't... I thought you were..."

Aventurine offered a hand. "Yeah, yeah. That was fun and all but I wouldn't try it again. You never know how far is-"

The red tube stuck with the knife suddenly began to emit a high pitched whine, like a kettle with boiling water. The hilt began to tremble ever so slightly.

Peridot took the cloaked Gem's hand and jumped to their feet. "What is it doing?"

"I have no idea."

With the force of an explosion, the knife shot out of the tube just in front of a great cloud of steam. It hit Peridot's chest with the force of a wrecking ball, causing them to gasp and fall back onto Aventurine.

"Whoa, there. Are you-" The cloaked Gem noticed something off. "No, you're not. Let's get out of here."

Aventurine leapt up onto the platform, and ran out of the Burning Room. All this Peridot watched with a sort of shocked half-consciousness. Then they felt warm sand on their back, and they looked up.

The cloaked Gem was staring down at them, surprisingly calm given the situation. "Can I just say you have some poor dodging skills, pieslice! This is why we don't follow me."

Peridot blinked. Their surprise at the sudden turn of events was rapidly giving way to a sharp pain.

"You'll probably poof, but after that you'll be fine. I can drop you off by the barn; the Crystal Gems won't notice me. So, see you tomorrow." They waved.

 _Poof_.


	25. Respite

As soon as Peridot reformed, they stumbled and rather ungracefully faceplanted on the floor. They gasped, opened their eyes, and came face to face with wooden planks.

"Peridot!" Somebody jumped on the green Gem from behind and gave them a giant hug. They were very heavy. "You're okay!"

They mumbled something.

"What did you say?"

Amethyst spoke up. "Dude, you're crushing Peri!"

Steven quickly hopped off. "Oh, sorry!"

"Nya!" Peridot felt themselves being lifted up and placed into a standing position, where they could see they were in the top level of the barn. "What are you clods doing anyway? I thought you were arguing!"

"We got over it." Garnet adjusted their visor.

"Yeah, and then it was really funny because somebody threw you at Garnet!" Amethyst pointed to Peridot. "We were all standing around, then suddenly G's glasses were all broken. Everyone was really freaked but it was hilarious to me!"

Pearl rolled their eyes. "Yes, well, maybe if you took the threat of Aventurine a little more seriously..."

"Threat?" Peridot frowned. "Aventurine did not appear to be a threat when..." They noticed everyone's eyes were now trained on them, and they faltered. "That's just what I presume!"

Garnet looked down at the green Gem. "Peridot, did you talk to Aventurine?"

"...Yes. But I'm not a traitor, I swear! I was just curious."

Amethyst snorted. "Dude, we're over the whole Yellow D thing. Soo, what did she say? Is she some sort of... giant hunk of... ugh, I dunno."

Peridot glared in the purple Gem's direction. "What I was trying to say is that Aventurine is looking for her pearl."

" _Her_ pearl?" Pearl asked pointedly.

"Yeah, the blue one she kept talking about when she narrated those stories. Apparently she's back on Homeworld." They hesitated. "I meant Blue Pearl, not her pearl!"

"No rebels would have survived a return to Homeworld." Garnet stated.

"That's what I told her! But she didn't listen to me."

"Maybe we could try again tomorrow?" Steven suggested. "Then she might listen and not want to go to Homeworld anymore."

"Tomorrow... oh my stars!" Peridot jumped. "Homeworld is coming! What are you clods doing?"

"Wait, Peridot! Garnet said Aventurine was telling the truth: Homeworld isn't going to attack us!" The boy smiled. "So we can work on the drill... and I can work on my Crystal Gem song!"

The green Gem frowned as Steven picked up their ukulele.

"Well," Pearl clasped their hands together. "Now that this is settled, I think I'm going to work on the drill. Peridot, you can join me any time you like."

Amethyst shrugged. "Well, I'm gonna go eat some trash or something. See ya."

Garnet said nothing; they jumped off the railing and landed with a thump. Amethyst and Pearl followed the fusion out of the barn.

The strumming of Steven's ukulele made Peridot turn. "What are you doing?"

"Garnet, Amethyst, Peridot Pearl... and Steven!" They beamed at the green Gem. "It works!"

"What works?"

"My song!"

They frowned. "How can a song 'work'? It's just noise!"

"Well, it's like when it sounds right."

"Sounds right?"

"Like a rhythm." They plucked a string, then began to play something that sounded like a proper tune. "Are there songs back on Homeworld?"

"Of course not, clod! Why would there be?" Peridot sat down heavily. "Homeworld is too formulaic for your Earth traditions."

"Formu-what?"

"You Earthlings are archaic! Everything you do seems pointless... but after everything I've seen I'd never return."

"That's good, right?"

"But Aventurine didn't learn that! As soon as she gets to Homeworld they're going to... maybe they're going to harvest her!"

Steven stopped strumming.

"But – nyah! - why do I care anyway? She betrayed me! If she wants to go back to Homeworld then what do I care!"

"Maybe you're missing Aventurine?"

Peridot gave the boy an odd look. "No, you already explained this concept to me. You talked about 'friends' and 'family'; Aventurine fits into neither of these categories. She assaulted me!"

The boy frowned, and opened their mouth. "Maybe..." They trailed off.

"Maybe what?"

"I dunno." They put their ukulele down and laid on the floor. "Peridot?"

"Yes, Steven?"

"I'm really happy we're all together again."

The green Gem frowned, cautiously reclining back next to the boy. "Aventurine betrayed you. Homeworld is coming tomorrow! What is there to be happy about?"

"I'm sad about Aventurine, but maybe she'll find her friend on Homeworld?"

"Pfft."

"And Garnet said we'll be okay tomorrow."

"How does the fusion-" Peridot remembered Sapphire. "Future vision."

The two remained silent for a couple of minutes, staring up at the dark ceiling. Outside the sun was setting, casting a gentle orange light through the attic. A strangely peaceful atmosphere descended on the two friends.

Then: "Steven, what is 'lethologica'?"

"Umm... I don't know. Do you?"

"I found it whilst searching the internets. Perhaps I should... Nyuh. I appear to have disremembered what I was about to say. See, this is the problem with relaxing: it's too relaxing!"


	26. A Turn of Events

**This is the rewritten chapter 26. I wrote the last one horribly, I knew I wrote it horribly but I had this kinda 'nah it's fiiiine' 2am feeling going on, so I posted it anyway. I'm sorry for not adding anything new this update, but I couldn't really push through with the trainwreck I originally had up.**

 **In other news, I'm looking for a beta to help me with some of the editing of this story. I can do it on my own, but being the writer I don't really get that much of a second opinion on my work until it's already public. This request is also coming at the 26th chapter of a pretty out-there story, so I figured I'd get more luck here than searching through Steven Universe betas.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoy! :)**

The evening passed peacefully into night, and the night turned to day. The moment the sun peeked above the horizon, however, one could perceive a distant hand-like figure in the sky.

Steven and Amethyst were woken up. Peridot was dragged from their favourite episode of Camp Pining Hearts. Everybody ran to Lion, who seemed to know that something was wrong and immediately took them to Beach City.

Within a matter of minutes they were back on the beach, Steven calling up Mayor Dewey to organise an evacuation. They stared up at the hand in the sky, which now appeared blue as the sun rose above the horizon.

Garnet looked around at their friends. "Alright, everybody. This is going to be tricky, but as long as nobody provokes them we'll be alright."

"Sounds like a good plan." A voice came from behind. The Gems looked and saw Aventurine step out of the house and jump down onto the sand.

"Aventurine!" Pearl summoned their spear, Garnet and Amethyst doing the same. "Why you little-!"

"Aren't you guys forgetting something?" The cloaked Gem pointed at the ship. "Homeworld's watching. And what have they got on board again?"

Reluctantly the three withdrew. Aventurine grinned at Peridot.

"Hey, pieslice! How's that stab healing?"

The green Gem crossed their arms, saying nothing. Steven in the meantime ran up to the cloaked Gem.

"Steven!" Pearl called, but they didn't slow. The boy dashed up to Aventurine and gave them a hug.

"What's this?" The cloaked Gem blinked in surprise before settling back into an easy smile. "It seems I still have a fan."

Steven gripped the Gem tightly. "You can't go to Homeworld! Peridot said they were gonna harvest you – whatever that means - so you could stay here!"

"No, she can't!" Garnet called.

"Hey, buddy." Aventurine was beginning to look distinctly uncomfortable. "Blue Diamond wouldn't touch this stone. Now, would you let go?"

"No! You can't leave!"

"Steven." The cloaked Gem's darker tone struck a chord within Peridot. "Let go."

"Steven, let go!" Peridot, then looked to the other Gems. "What are you standing around for?! Do something!"

They mobilised, the light of the Homeworld ship on their backs.

Luckily, Steven recognised something was wrong and backed off, staring with wide eyes up at Aventurine. The Gem pulled their cloak tightly around their form as the wind blew harder, facing the glaring Crystal Gems. "Thanks, Steven. This was fun and all, but the giant ship is _thatta way_."

Garnet spun around. "No time to worry about Aventurine. They're nearly here!"

The five assembled in a tight group, half looking up at the ship and half keeping an eye on Aventurine. The blue Homeworld ship began to slow, turned over and slammed down on the beach in the exact same manner the green one had.

Once the sand cleared, they could see a small pod roll onto the tip of the index finger, which dropped on the ground. Five Gems stepped onto the beach; a Peridot, three Rubies and a pale Pearl, whose head was bowed low. All of them had some sort of strange black device around where their gemstones were

Peridot blinked in surprise. They sent another Peridot? Around them Pearl gasped in horror, and Garnet clenched their fists.

Aventurine smiled. "Hello, Homeworld."

The Homeworld Peridot frowned, bringing up a screen on their limb enhancers – the exact limb enhancers Peridot used. "This is the... Aventurine, Amethyst sent us to pick up."

The Rubies shrugged, so the Pearl spoke up. "They do fit our description."

"Yes, yes." The Homeworld Peridot spoke into their screen. "Amethyst, the Gem does fit our description."

"Amethyst?" Amethyst raised an eyebrow, which was met by a knowing grin from the cloaked Gem.

"You're not unique. Well, you might be because you're a runt, but-"

"Excuse me?"

"You two!" The Homeworld Peridot pointed. "Can't you see I'm busy? Stop talking!"

Aventurine snorted. "Why, of course. I'll stop talking right now; I'll just zip my lips and let you carry on with what you're-"

" _Shut up_!" The Peridot snapped, then looked down fearfully at their screen. "Wait, not you Amethyst! I-it was for the Aventurine, she was being most uncooperative... ahem. No, it won't happen again. Yes. Yes, I will, right away." They shut down their screen with a pouty glare.

"What'd Amethyst say?" One of the Rubies asked.

The Homeworld Peridot pointed a floating finger at the Crystal Gems. "Amethyst told me to separate those traitors and wait for further instructions."

"Right." One of the Rubies – the same one that had spoken before and appeared to be the dominant voice - cracked their fists and ventured forward, the other two following close behind. "Let's beat up these Rebels!"

The Crystal Gems crowded together around Steven and Peridot, their gemstones glowing.

"Beat us up, will ya?" Amethyst balled their fists.

"Ahem." Aventurine intervened before anything could truly go wrong. "We made this thing called an agreement, you know? It's where I go and tell Blue Diamond important stuff, and you don't shove around this here group. Capiche?"

The Ruby blinked. "Oh. Right." They turned to the Peridot. "What does Amethyst say?"

"Yes." The Peridot sighed. "Those unfortunately were Amethyst's orders from her Diamond. Though I wonder what my Yellow Diamond would say about this strategy."

"So if we can't touch them, what do we do?"

The Peridot sighed deeply. "We'll just have to perform a count and a visual inspection. It's better than nothing, I suppose."

"There's five of them." Aventurine chipped in. "Just like I told-"

"Shut up! One, two," They pointed at Garnet. "three four, five, six... wait a minute, that's one more!"

The cloaked Gem snorted.

"What is that sound for? Explain this to me, Aventurine!"

They shrugged, earning an aggravated glance from the Crystal Gems. "Maybe you just stink at counting?"

"Why you little... Don't make me call Amethyst again!"

The Homeworld Pearl quietly intervened. "Perhaps our informant mistakenly counted the fusion as one entity?"

The Peridot narrowed their eyes at Aventurine. "No, that seems too... Rubies! What is your opinion?"

"Aventurine could be lying to us!" The leader suggested.

"Yeah! And if she's lying we can punch her in the face!"

"Yes..." The Peridot smirked. "And any lie told by the informant authorises me to use the corruption device!"

Garnet shot a glare at Aventurine. "Do something!"

Aventurine shrugged.

They pressed the button. The ship behind them began to lift into the air, emitting a loud whirring sound as it moved into the position of a pointing finger. A small grey nozzle was beginning to extend from the tip.

Pearl gasped. "I can't do this again! I can't!"

"Do what?" Peridot frowned.

Before any answer could come the green Gem felt something push them to the ground. They looked up and saw Garnet racing forwards, only their left gauntlet summoned. They powered past the Rubies and jumped onto the ship.

"Garnet, no!" Pearl cried out. The fusion punched the nozzle completely off, causing a spurt of clear liquid to shoot out and land on them. Garnet lost their grip and fell right in front of the Homeworld Peridot, who let out a rather undignified squeak and caught them with a tractor beam.

The Crystal Gems tried to come to their aid, but the Rubies fused together and stood in the way. Amethyst and Pearl formed Opal and the two clashed. One was much more suited to close combat than the other, and it wasn't the one with a bow.

"Opal!" Steven rushed forwards to help, much to Peridot's distress.

"Steven, wait! Look at the ship!"

The ship was turning in their direction, tip glowing in anticipation to fire, and with a final punch the Ruby jumped out of the way. The boy didn't seem to have noticed.

Peridot reached out to Steven just before the ship blasted them, throwing the two in completely different directions. The green Gem landed on the soft beach in the middle of the dust cloud thrown up by the explosion.

"That was a mess!" Somebody was speaking from somewhere in the dust. "What will Amethyst think? Rubies, load these Crystal Gems in the ship."

The green Gem stood up, trying to make their way towards the Gems. They walked around before splashing right into the sea; with a yelp of surprise they drew back.

"Wait. What was that?"

The green Gem froze.

A voice Peridot recognised as Aventurine spoke up. "Ah, it's probably a fish or something. So where are we going again, Mars?"

"I'm sure that Blue Diamond already told you. But... hmmm. I could've sworn there were two more of those Crystal Gems."

"Hey, hey, let's not get mixed up with counting again, eh?"

"Fine. Let's go."

Peridot breathed a sigh of relief. Then they realised what this meant.

"Wait!" They shouted through the clearing dust. There was a whirring sound as the ship began to start up again. "Amethyst? Garnet? Steven?"

"Peridot!"

"Steven!" Peridot turned just in time to get a tackle hug to the ground. "Nyah, Steven! Why are you attacking me?!"

"You're alright! I saw the explosion and I was so worried – wait." They sat up and looked around. "Where's Opal and Garnet? Where's the ship?"

Peridot shoved the boy away with a grumpy expression. Then looked up, and their mood changed instantly. "Steven, I think we have a problem."

The ship was flying away.


	27. Mission to Mars

"Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl!" Steven darted across the beach, running until they were knee deep in icy salt water. "No!"

"Steven, what are we gonna do?" Peridot looked around as they followed the boy. "Aventurine mentioned Mars, but how are we going to get there? Why are they going there? Steven?"

The boy had their face in their hands, sobbing their heart out.

"Steven, snap out of it!" The green Gem frowned. "I'm supposed to be the one who freaks out, not you! You're supposed to be the leader!"

Judging by Steven's stricken expression, this was not a good choice of words.

"Uh, yeah. Steven, you should stop standing in that dihydrogen monoxide; I read that it's dangerous."

"I can't even see them anymore." Steven was saying when Peridot took their hand and dragged them off. "Peridot, I'm scared."

"Great, just great." Steven's phone began ringing. "What is that?"

The boy fished it out of their pocket. "It's Dad! What are we going to tell him?"

Peridot snatched it. "Perhaps this Dad can help if we give them a full disclosure. Dad?"

"Steven? You sound different... is everything all right?"

"No, everything is not all right!" The green Gem growled. "This entire mission has failed. The Crystal Gems have been captured, Homeworld has gained detailed information from Aventurine-"

"Peridot..."

"And this Steven won't calm down! I don't know what I'm doing to upset him! Dad?"

There was heavy breathing on the other side. "Just... whoo, just give me a second..."

"Stop hyperventilating!" Peridot demanded, outraged. "Nyaaah, what am I going to do with you two clods?! Just... meet me by the Temple when you are ready to be useful."

They hung up. "Who is Dad anyway?"

"Peridot," Steven sniffed.

"What is it? Do you have an idea?"

"Do you think this Peridot would ever join the Crystal Gems like you?"

Peridot rolled their eyes. "Come on. I need to do some repairs."

~Line Break~

"Wow, Peridot." Greg looked around Steven's house before sitting down on a chair. "This place was a wreck, how'd you fix it up in just a couple of hours?"

Steven sat on the floor by Greg.

The green Gem was wheeling a blackboard up so it faced the kitchen. "Please, I am a certified Ho- I am a certified technician. Only minimal help from Steven was required to repair the roof and flooring to tolerable condition."

"So... now what?"

Peridot fished out a piece of chalk and began drawing on the board. "Now, _this_ is the Earth. _This_ is Mars. The minimum distance between the two planets is 55.8 million kilometres."

"Kilo-whatta?"

"Shut up! The maximum velocity my old Homeworld ship could reach is 700,000 kilometres per hour – as this new ship is pretty much exactly the same as mine except for the colour, I'm going to assume they travel at the same velocity. Now, calculate the... that number goes, there... and... aha! We have approximately 79.7 hours to build some sort of thing to rescue the Crystal Gems!"

"Three days?" Steven's eyes widened.

"That's what I said."

Greg raised their hand up a little. "Uh, yeah. Three days, whoo..."

"No questions until the end! Jasper told me there was a secret deactivated base on Mars during the war, but evidently it has been reactivated. To help with fast travel from Homeworld to Earth, there must have been a warp pad installed on Earth. If we can only find it, we won't have to construct any complicated teleportation devices. How does that sound, Steven?"

Steven looked up.

"Well? You're the leader, what do you think?"

"Why am I the leader?" The boy frowned.

"Well, I'm not the leader! You know the Gems aren't going to come back if you sit there and look sad all day!"

The boy looked down, and Greg placed a hand on their back.

"Hey, Peridot, do you think you could be a little gentler? Steven's had a rough day."

The green Gem blushed. "Oh, right. A little gentler. I'm... going to go find a map of Earth."

Peridot quickly walked away, audio log in hand.


	28. Fortress of (Broken) Mirrors

It was the middle of the night when Greg approached Peridot. They were standing on the beach, looking as if they were digging something.

"Peridot?" The green Gem jumped. The handful of sand they had in their hands quickly slipped through their fingers.

"Nyah, you clod! That was important!"

"Oh, I'm really sorry!" The man blushed. "Do you want me to-"

Peridot silenced them with a hand wave. "Whatever, it's done now. What did you want again?"

"I think me and Steven found a world map... though if you already have one-"

"No, that is perfect." Peridot walked past Greg, back to the living room where Steven was sitting. "Did you say you found a map of Earth?"

There was a large, decorated book laid out on the counter, with Steven nowhere to be found. Peridot stopped.

"That's not a map!"

"It's an atlas." Greg opened it. "It's like a book, but with maps. Do you guys still use books?"

Peridot struggled up onto the counter. "What? I'd never heard of these organic record keeping methods until I got stuck on Earth. It's simply archaic... but strangely aesthetically pleasing. Yes, this will be adequate."

"Great! Now, I've gotta go find Steven." Greg backed out of the house, leaving Peridot alone. They continued flipping through the pages, fiddling with this strange tassel hanging out of the bottom they couldn't quite figure out a use for.

Judging by the wasteful (yet pretty) illustrations and the 'strange ruins' mark on all Gem structure placements, this was a human-written book. Peridot grew increasingly frustrated as they only came across partial maps of Earth; they eventually threw the book up in the air.

"Why are you Earthlings so confusing! _Why_ would you have a world map yet not show the entire-" The book they had upturned landed on the floor, opened to the page with the entire world map. Peridot blushed and looked around before snatching it back. "World. I hope nobody saw that."

After a second it became apparent nobody was watching, so the Gem shrugged and continued their work. They brought out a pen and began marking down locations of warp pads, talking to themselves in the process.

"So, I'm looking for a hidden warp pad to Mars. If I was Homeworld, where would I put it? There are known warp pads in every continent... except this one."

They circled the country in the most bottom right of the map. It was split in uneven halves, the smaller part of the landmass containing a 'strange ruins' mark in the centre.

"They call this place Astroalia." Peridot frowned, remembering a certain story about a Homeworld fortress with a Galaxy Warp as they drew a darker circle around it. "Hmmm, this seems worth investigating immediately. Steven- Whoa!"

Neither Steven nor Greg were present. Instead Lion was standing in the middle of the room, regarding them passively.

Peridot got up where they fell off the counter. "It's just you. Nyeah, I should install some sort of alarm device so you stop sneaking up on me like that!"

Lion padded up to the green Gem, and pushed their nose into their side.

"Wait, I know what you want." Peridot looked over to the atlas and picked it up. "You can't teleport to Mars, but you can teleport to any place on the Earth. Lion, go here!"

They pointed out the location on the map, and Lion's eyes began to glow. Peridot carefully placed the atlas back on the table, then scrambled up onto their back with the closest they had ever gotten to ease around the animal. The green Gem gave Lion a light pat on the side to signal readiness to depart then held on tight to Lion's mane as the two teleported to the other side of the world.

The two came out the other side in broad daylight, which was startling to say the least. Peridot squinted and covered their eyes as the panting Lion slowed and came to a rest. Then they hopped off, and looked around.

They had landed in a rather sandy area at the foot of a large hill, on top of which was undeniably the Gem structure they were looking for. It was a tall, imposing fortress with shocking yellow walls.

This did not faze Peridot, having seen much worse ways of keeping people out back on Homeworld. "Nyah, I hate walking! Why didn't you teleport us right up to this strange place so we can get this over with?"

Lion moaned and stood up, Peridot following as they made their way up the hill. After a short time they made it to an open archway leading into a very dimly lit interior.

Peridot raised an eyebrow, activating their gemstone light and venturing in after Lion. They found themselves in a room that tapered off into darkness in all directions, seemingly endless except for the exit. There was, however, a fairly short roof with strange uniform holes.

They began walking along the wall, noting the simple pattern of repeating white, blue, yellow and pink diamonds stretching along the surface.

At first the inside was deadly silent, as if it was holding its breath. The green Gem found themselves getting very impatient going in one direction without any foreseeable corner, so they struck out towards the middle.

For a moment nothing happened, and then:

"You're not unique." A strangely familiar voice spoke up from the void. Peridot jumped and turned.

"Who's there?" They saw nothing but darkness, with the dim pinprick of the exit far in the distance. "I demand you show yourselves!"

Nothing happened so they continued walking, wondering if they should have stuck to the wall.

"Crystal Gems, attack!"

Peridot whirled around in sudden terror, looking for this strange new voice. They saw it... in the form of Lapis dashing towards them, arms outstretched. The green Gem blinked as the figure stopped a few feet away from them.

"You're not unique." They spoke in a completely different voice. Peridot frowned suspiciously as they saw the Gem's body flicker on the edges.

They approached Lapis cautiously, reached out, and touched her shoulder – it passed through! Immediately the figure fizzled out.

"You're some sort of holographic image!" Peridot grinned as they realised the truth. "This room must have some sort of sensors that project them... Ingenious, but completely broken!"

"Your loyalty is to Homeworld!" Aventurine stepped out of the shadows. Peridot waved it away and continued walking.

An unknown blue Gem stepped across their path. "The Crystal Gems are gone forever!"

There was the sound of a resonating smash, like somebody punching a wall.

"Oh, please." Peridot felt this song and dance was beginning to get old. "You clods can't trick me now that I've figured out you're all just holograms!"

A loud, pained roar sounded directly in front of them. What appeared to be Lion struggled forwards on their two front paws towards Peridot, moaning in desperation, before a large black hand grabbed them from behind and pulled them out of sight, their last echoes fading into silence.

Peridot took note of the rather impressive visual effects (for their time, of course) and moved on. Eventually they came across what appeared to be a ladder up to the next story.

"Finally!"Peridot skipped over. "Whatever this is, it's got to be more interesting than this room!"

They put their hand on the ladder, but as they did so they felt something fluffy. This sensation was so out of place it caused them to briefly freeze, before grabbing the fluff and examining it.

It was a tuft of pink hair, soft as a cat's fur. In fact, it reminded Peridot of one cat in particular, called-

"Lion." The green Gem felt their metaphorical heart drop to their feet in sudden horror. They leapt away from the ladder just in time to see a large black hand drop down on where they were just standing. It crushed the floor below it; this was no illusion.

"You're not unique." Peridot scrambled to their feet and pushed aside a foreboding Lapis as they began a desperate dash to the exit.


	29. Despair, Boredom, Darkness and Dingoes

Peridot had never run so fast with their little legs as when they sprinted from the mysterious ladder to the light of the exit. They didn't hesitate, they look back once, they just wanted _out_.

The Gem burst out of the fortress at such a pace they ran right off the hill, lost footing and tumbled down the side. Their hands instinctively went to their gemstone, and by the end of the ordeal they were unharmed, if a little shaken up.

Still giddy from the fall, they tried and failed to get up, laughing at their good luck.

"I'm alright." They breathed as they looked back up the hill. "I gotta report this to Steven. Lion-"

The Gem turned, but all they could see was miles of flat shrubby land. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows.

"Lion was captured by that hand." Peridot stated to themselves. "I am now stranded. On a remote island. By myself."

They kicked some sand around.

"And I didn't tell Steven or Greg of my plan. That was a stupid miscalculation!" They shook themselves. "Anyway, I can work this out. I don't need them, I can just take some, nyuh, sand and... this stick! Yes, and then I can use it to... use it to..."

Peridot looked up at the imposing yellow fortress, and they sighed.

"Who am I kidding? There is nothing here; I can't rescue Lion! I can't do anything on my own!" They sat down, and tried to snap the stick they had found in two. It refused to budge, so after a moment they simply dropped it and buried their face in their knees, defeated.

And this time, they were utterly alone. The shadows lengthened, until the sun set and night washed over the hill. Crickets cheeped, creatures howled and still Peridot sat there all curled up.

They weren't actually that terrified now. In all honesty, they were _bored_.

Being defeated was boring, Peridot decided. Sure, they had had plenty of time to think, but after a couple of humiliating hours they really didn't have much to think about anymore except for what they were doing here.

What were they doing here, doing nothing? They weren't being productive, or even – as Steven said – enjoying themselves. They felt awful, a mix of guilt and shame and restlessness. And their back hurt.

And if they were feeling so awful sitting here, how much worse could doing something to save Lion and the Crystal Gems be?

So Peridot tentatively got up, and stretched. Then they turned on their gemstone light and began looking for something that might prove useful against the fortress. Already they were feeling just a bit better.

~Line Break~

"Alright Earthlings, listen up! It is regrettable, but you are my last hope for saving Lion and the Crystal Gems. This is the last full rotation before they reach Mars. Everything must go perfectly, and not a stone is to be told of our secret mission. Am I understood?"

A pack of five dingoes circled around Peridot, whining and sniffing. They were less interested in hearing what the Gem had to say, and more about how _weird_ this strange new creature smelled: they couldn't get over it! Plus they had food, so it wasn't like they were going to go anywhere.

Peridot groaned. "Nyah, you clods are useless! Why do I always end up working with animals? I hate animals!"

The Gem was beginning to regret choosing the dingoes over the snake ladders. The idea had occurred to them as morning broke, but whilst out collecting snakes (the most harmless snakes in the world, Astroalia boasted) they had encountered a pack of these wild dogs who just wouldn't leave them alone. That combined with the sudden realisation that snakes don't make good ladders, convinced Peridot to switch to Plan B.

"You'll have to do." Peridot picked up a stick and tied a snake to it. "Everybody, charge!"

The group plodded up the hill, stopped to take a breath, then ran into the yellow fortress. The dingoes were barking excitedly and jumping around Peridot for the food, which they struggled to keep out of reach.

One of them bit their arm, causing the Gem to recoil and drop the stick. The wild dogs made short work of it.

"Ow! Hey, that's not fair!" The Gem briefly considered reaching in to retrieve the stick, but common sense quickly pushed that idea out of their head. "Stop it! This isn't part of the plan!"

That was when one very large dark hand emerged out of the darkness and clamped down around one dingo. The animal's cries alerted the others who yelped and scattered, leaving Peridot alone. After a very brief moment of frozen terror, the Gem came to their senses and high-tailed it back out of the fortress. They glared down at the deserting dingoes.

"So that plan was a complete failure." They stroked their chin. "Maybe I could have gone with snake ropes... but I can't climb adequately enough for that to work. Nyeh..."

It was then that Peridot became aware of a rushing noise, distant but growing closer, like a wave crashing against the shore. When they looked up, they perceived a large column of water arcing over the land, coming right towards them. That would have been strange enough if there wasn't any source of water within sight.

They yelped and backed up, but after a second they realised on the the top of the column was a flat surface, and on the surface was two figures.

"Steven?" Peridot frowned. Then: "Lapis Lazuli?"


End file.
